Forever and Ever Sequel to Best Book Ever!
by MalLuvsDC150
Summary: After graduating high school, Sam and David are ready to head off to college and enjoy the rest of their lives together. But after the two are separated, Sam is forced into someone who could possibly ruin her whole relationship with David.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was beating down on my back incredibly hard. There were a thousand thoughts running through my mind. Most of them were little things I had to remember. One of them being to not trip up the stairs. That would be a very Sam thing to do. It really would. Hopefully, if I paid enough attention to whatever the hell I was doing at said moment, I wouldn't fall.

My mind had gone blank since the minute I saw David get up and receive his diploma. I spaced out after that. I just knew I was going to end up doing something stupid. I was trying to figure out how much longer it would be until they called my names. When would they be at the R's?

"Samantha Ryan."

They had to use my full name. Great. I honestly hated my last name for the main reason that it related me back to my mom. Wait, why was I being so negative about something so awesome? I guess I couldn't help it when I was trying not to do something stupid. I stood up and headed to the stage. I carefully walked up the stairs. The principal handed me my diploma. I looked out into the crowd and smiled. The sun was blaring in my eyes so I really couldn't see much.

I couldn't help but feel relieved that high school was officially over. Or I guess you could have called the first three and a half years hell on earth? The last few months of senior year were great. It only took that long for something to come along.

In early November, I met the absolute love of my life, David. There was a lot of drama going around right around that time. It really made some things difficult. Like the factor of Jeremy, my super jealous and self centered ex boyfriend who insisted on beating said new boyfriend up to win me back. I think it was common sense that when you hurt a girl's new man, you aren't getting her back. I think it took Jeremy a little while to grasp that.

Then there was all the drama with Nicole. I was done listening to her a long time ago. I just never quite stuck up for what I believed in until that one fateful day that I decided I had enough of all this crap I was dealing with. That one choice led me to the greatest thing that ever happened to me. She ended up getting dumped by Brian just after prom.

It wasn't a surprise to me that neither of them graduated with any honors or gotten accepted into colleges yet. I was pretty right in guessing that they couldn't stand up in the real world.

I couldn't even begin to describe how much I was thankful for David. He was everything to me. There were rough patches along the way but never once had I been mad at him for anything. And as many times as people say there is no such thing as a perfect guy, there is. I have an example to prove it.

The past few months had been kind of crazy but still completely amazing. I enjoyed spending all of my time with David. From going to see his band play shows in town, to just hanging out with him and his friends. I didn't care as long as I got to see him.

Bobby and Jeff had become some of my closest friends too. They were very interesting guys but I liked them a lot. They always managed to tag along to everything. David didn't allow them on dates though. That was crossing the line in his book. Anyone who knew them knew that they would feed off of whatever they had. Bobby just looked for excuses to see me. He even admitted to my face that he had a tiny crush on me. I wasn't surprised. He made it obvious. Both of them were single. They had the occasional date but got bored fast with them. So they lingered off of David's love life with me.

After three years of plain crap, things finally fell into place. I had forgotten all the bad things that happened and replaced them with all the new and amazing things going on. None of it mattered anymore. That was all the past and I couldn't be looking back on that. It only took me so long to get that.

I stepped down off the stage and headed back to my seat to wait for the ceremony to end. I wasn't thrilled about how hot it was. And of course it had to be outside. Not in the nice, big air conditioned gym. Maybe if I brought sunglasses it would have been better.

The ceremony ended with the parting words that we were all the graduates or something like that and everyone started going crazy. I wasn't in to that sort of thing. I was more of a calm person. I always had been.

I started looking around for David. It was hard to see anyone through all this craziness. I spotted him across the lawn trying to make his way through. I didn't like the idea of all these people. I tended to get a little claustrophobic. I headed over to him. He noticed me and smiled.

I got to him and wrapped my arms around him.

"Oh My God. We did it!"

He smiled, "I know. It feels so relieving!"

"Thank God. I can't wait to leave high school behind."

"You're not the only one."

Just as he finished, Bobby and Jeff came up from behind us. Bobby put one arm around David.

"Dude, we did it!"

David shook his head and laughed, "Yeah, I'm especially proud of you."

"Wait, why?"

"Nothing."

Bobby frowned, "Are you saying that you didn't think I could do it?"

"No. I just implied it."

"Thanks for that."

David smiled, "Your welcome."

I put my arm around David's waist as Bobby continued.

"So where are you going in the fall?"

College was a scary thought. But it had to be thought about since I would be going so soon. I had applied for a few. The school I had in mind was Boston University. I went to Boston when I was a little kid and since then, that had been where I wanted to go. Thankfully, I got accepted.

David and I had been planning to go to school somewhat close to each other. He applied for all the ones in that area. My scores had actually been okay. David's on the other hand, were beyond good. Of all the New England schools he had applied to, the one he would most likely get into was Harvard. Sometimes it wasn't fair to the other guys in the world.

"I don't know yet. I haven't heard anything."

They nodded, "Well that's okay. You'll get in somewhere with those scores."

"I hope so."

Jeff gave him a look, "Seriously? What were you? Like third in the state?"

David nodded, "I think it was. I'm not keeping track."

David's mom came up to us and quickly pushed us to the side to hug David.

"I can't believe my baby is graduating high school! I'm so proud of you!"

He smiled, "Thanks Mom."

I really loved his mom. She was just so sweet and always supportive of her sons no matter what. She was exactly the mom I had wanted my whole life. Luckily for me, she approved of me and sort of treated me as well as she did David and Andrew.

"Sam, I'm so proud of you too."

I smiled, "Thank you."

She looked over at Bobby next, "And Bobby I'm surprised and proud of you. Your mom must feel very relieved."

He shook his head, "Why does everyone say that?"

I laughed, "I always thought you could do it."

He smiled, "Thanks. See? I knew I liked her for a reason!"

David brought his arm back around my waist, "Easy."

I liked how protective he always was of me. It was really sweet. There was so many times where he always put me and my safety first.

David's mom pulled out her camera.  
"Let me take a quick picture you guys."

David groaned, "Mom please."

She frowned, "Just cooperate David."

He flashed a smiled as she clicked the camera. I always thought it was cute how he listened to everything she told him to do. He was like the perfect son. He never did anything wrong. You could tell sometimes that Andrew felt bad that David was sometimes favored. But he got away with doing things that David wouldn't get away with. He was kept on a much tighter leash than Andrew. It made sense though because he was older and more trouble came with that.

There were a lot tighter rules for him. Especially now that he had a serious girlfriend. His mom wanted him to stay out of trouble when it came to that. No mom wanted their son ending up in trouble with stuff like that. I wouldn't know but that would make sense. She had to give him a talk about being mature and waiting a while to start having sex. The way he explained it to me cracked me up.

That was when the curfew came into play. He wasn't allowed out past eleven thirty and couldn't bring girls into his room at night. All this action was coming a little late for him. But he just kept going along with it until we left for school. Then we could stay out as late as we wanted and do whatever we wanted. It's not like his mom gave us a hard time. I loved her like she was my own mom. That was partially because she treated me like her daughter.

She came over and hugged him again. You could tell how proud she was.

"You grow up so fast. It's not fair."

He smiled, "Well you still have Andrew."

She smiled back, "True. Let's head home. Company should be getting there shortly."

David's parents had planned a really nice party for him since this was a big deal for them. It was supposed to be a surprise but his dad accidentally squealed a few weeks ago. I think David already knew though. His mom wasn't the best about hiding things. She left the invitations out a few times. David totally knew what was being planned but ignored them and let her go along with it.

We started heading to the car. Bobby and Jeff went off to find their parents somewhere in the crowd. They had parties of their own to go to. That means a somewhat peaceful afternoon was in store. I rode home with David and his mom since I had no one else to go with.

Once we got there, David and I headed to his room. He tossed his hat and gown on the bed. I could tell he wasn't crazy about wearing it. He turned and looked in the mirror. I had to say, he looked cute dressed up. He looked very professional.

David stood in front of the mirror for a second and started to take off his tie. He wasn't successful.

"Can you help me out with this?"

I smiled and stood up from his bed, "Really? You mean you don't know how to do a tie?"

He shook his head, "Nope. No Idea. That's why I don't wear them."

I thought back a little ways. He really didn't. He wasn't wearing one at Prom. But he did wear one on our first date.

"What about our first date? You wore one then. The black one with the vest."

He smiled, "You remember what I was wearing?"

I nodded, "Yup. I remember a lot of your outfits."

"Why?"

"Because you look cute all the time."

He blushed, "Thanks. Oh and I think my dad helped me out with that one. Then of course he was prompted to ask why I was dressed so nice. So I had to tell him I had a date. Which totally surprised him."

I smiled, "Aw. That was a really great night."

He nodded, "Yeah. It really was."

I undid the tie off his neck and slid it off.

"There you go."

"Thanks. I really should learn how to do that."

He turned back to the mirror and ran his fingers through his hair. It had been combed nicely and gelled. Well, not anymore. I didn't mind. His hair looked pretty hot messy. That's how I was used to seeing it.

He undid a few of the top buttons on his light blue button down. He had tried to pick light colors since it was hot out and we would be outside for a while. He then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt a little.

He took a seat on the bed next to me. He glanced over at my outfit. I had on a simple yellow dress. It wasn't anything special.

"You look really pretty."

I smiled, "Thanks."

He leaned in and kissed me. I got chills really fast. I always did. Every little thing he did set off these tiny little reactions like the chills or a warm and fuzzy feeling.

He stood up.

"I think we should try and help my mom set up a little bit."

I nodded and stood up as well. We headed outside into the backyard where the tent was set up. I wasn't a fan of setting up and cleaning up at parties. I don't think anyone was. David and I sat down at one of the tables. His mom looked over at us.

"Can you guys do me a quick favor and get the boxes of plastic ware out of the cabinet?"

David stood up, "Sure. I'll go grab them."

I stood up and followed. David opened the cabinet door and started searching for the utensils. He found them and set them on the counter. I shut the cabinet door behind him and took a seat on the counter. David came over and rested his hands on my waist.

"I love you."

I blushed, "I love you too."

That was honestly something I could say without any hesitation at all. I never thought twice before telling him I loved him. I couldn't come up with a reason to think that way.

He leaned in and rested his lips on mine. I brought my arms to the back of his neck and leaned in closer to make it easier for him. I was always quick to be superficial whenever we kissed. He was a lot better at it than most guys.

I was tempted to start undoing his shirt a little more but Andrew walked in. He rolled his eyes at David.

"Thanks David. You know, we kind of eat here."

David pulled himself away from me. "Yeah. It's the kitchen. Of course we eat here."

Andrew shook his head, "You play yourself so innocent. Trust me. Not at all."

David smiled, "You sure?"

"Very sure. There are a lot of things I could tell mom that would get you grounded for a really long time."

David crossed his arms, "Outside. Now."

Andrew smiled deviously and headed outside. David looked embarrassed. I smiled at him.

"Don't worry. He won't tell your mom."

"I hope not. There are some things she does not need to know."

"Definitely. Let's get back outside before Andrew squeals on you."

He smiled and slid me off the counter. I put one arm around his back and leaned my head on his shoulder. David set the boxes on the table outside. His mom quickly smiled and thanked him. We took a seat at one of the tables.

It didn't take long for people to start arriving. Rob and Karen were there first. That was typical. They always came before anyone else did. I think they made it a goal to leave extra early and beat all the other guests. It was like it was something they were proud of.

David stood up and hugged them both. Karen kept her arms around him for a few extra seconds.

"It's not fair. You grew up to fast!"

David laughed, "Sorry. It's not my fault."

She smiled, "I know. It seems like it wasn't that long ago that you were just a baby and I had to change your diaper."

He looked a little embarrassed, "Thanks for sharing that. Eighteen years is a long time you know."

She shook her head, "Not for me."

She stepped away from him. Rob shook his head.

"It took forever for me."

David smiled, "Yeah me too."

"Trust me you've grown up nicely. You were pretty awkward for a little while."

David shook his head, "Thanks. You make me feel real good."

Rob laughed, "I'm just kidding."

"Sure you are."

"No. I'm proud of you. I really am. So what did you get into with those grades? Harvard? Yale?"

"Umm…I have no idea where I'm going. I haven't heard anything."

They both looked shocked, "Really?! Nothing from any schools?"

He nodded with dismay, "Nope. It's making me kind of nervous."

I rested my arm around his lower back, "Don't worry too much about it. There's no way you can't get in somewhere."

He looked over at me and smiled, "Thanks. I hope so."

I hated seeing him totally torn up about all this. He really deserved to get into a great school. He was a well rounded person. Someone that any school should love to have. He had mentioned a few times that if schools were trying to pick students and they did some research into him and found out about his suicide attempt that they wouldn't take him. Schools didn't want to increase the annual suicide rate there.

More and more people came. I was used to family parties with his family by now. They treated me well. I wasn't complaining at all. They were way better than any family I had. Sometimes these things got me thinking about what my parent's would think about David. My dad would have really liked him. He was like who my dad told me to fall in love with. My mom on the other hand might not approve. She would begin to think about how rich he was.

That was one of the things that sucked about having rich parents. They were picky like that. My dad wouldn't have cared. Sometimes I really wished he was still around. Things got hard after he died. Especially after my mom left. I was at least glad I had an adoptive family to fall back on.

The afternoon was slightly crazy. I felt bad that everyone knew me by my name when I didn't know theirs. I knew David's immediate family. Like his mom, Andrew, his dad and step dad. But that was it. Some of the farther out ones were new to me even though we had met a few times.

By the time people started heading out it was around seven. The party had lasted around four hours or so. The only thing I was never thrilled about was the fact that David wasn't all mine for those hours. That actually sounded pretty bad. I didn't demand his attention be on me the whole time. That was a tad needy.

Rob and Karen were the last people to leave. That was expected too. Once there were no more people around, the ever so fun clean up began. The cool thing was everything was pretty much disposable so you could just throw it away.

Once that was all done, David and I took a seat again. He brushed one strand of hair behind my ears and smiled.

"So were you thinking about going on that trip tomorrow with the school?"

Oh. I had forgotten all about that. Every year, the senior class took a ride to the beach for a party and stuff to celebrate surviving high school. I honestly didn't think about it till then.

"I actually forgot about it. Do you want to go?"

He shrugged, "I don't care. I just thought it would be cool because you only graduate high school once. If you don't want to, that's fine. We don't have to."

"No. It's fine. We can. The bus leaves pretty early. Are you going to be able to get up to go?"

He smiled, "Maybe. We'll see. It's a long bus ride too. I can sleep then."

"And I know you will."

"Exactly. How about I pick you up around eight?"

I smiled back, "You'll be alive?"

"Maybe a little. Just enough to drive."

"Oh okay."

He nodded, "I think this is one of the first times I don't have to drive Bobby and Jeff somewhere."

He totally had a point, "They're not going?"

"No they are. Their moms are driving them to spare me a little work."

"Oh. That's pretty nice of them."

"I know. It's pretty cool. I guess I should take you home. I've got some stuff to do around here."

I nodded and stood up, "Okay. That's fine."

David stood up and brought me to his car. Once I got home, I started to do a little packing. The school booked out a hotel for all the students so we could stay over night. The only thing was there couldn't be more than four to a room. No big deal since that was how many we had.

I hated packing. I only liked it for the main reason that it meant you were going somewhere and getting out of here for a while. That was nice. As much as I liked home, it got boring. I wanted something new to feed off of.

I fell asleep not long after that. It was pretty early for me to head to sleep, but I didn't care. I was tired. It had been a long day today and it would be a long one tomorrow. I was actually pretty excited.


	2. Chapter 2

I got up super early the next morning. Somewhere around six. I finished packing all the stuff I would need from now. Like my toothbrush, hairbrush and other stuff along those lines. I had dressed comfortably because sitting in uncomfortable clothing on a bus for a few hours would be awful.

David got there just a few minutes after eight. I didn't blame him for not being exactly on time. Mornings were tough for him. They were especially tough on him if he had a long night the night before. Those were kind of rough on me too. Even though I was a morning person. Morning person or not, it was hard to get up from that.

He looked tired too. His eyes were barely open and his hair looked messier than normal. He clearly hadn't shaved either. I think he was really glad that he could sleep for a good three hours on the bus. That would make up for the missed hours now. I loved seeing him in the morning. He didn't talk much. That was the only time he didn't talk. Every other time he was always going on about something.

"Morning."

He nodded and rubbed his eyes, "Yeah. About that."

I smiled, "Aw. Just get on the bus and then you can sleep for a while."

"Trust me, I will."

He turned and headed to his car and I followed. It only took a few minutes to get to the school. That was a good thing. I don't think David was going to last much longer. I honestly didn't know how he got up for school every morning. I guess it was just days when he didn't have to go to school that gave him a hard time.

Bobby and Jeff arrived just as we did. They looked hyper compared to everyone else.

"Hey Sam!"

I laughed, "Hey Bobby. What's up?"

He leaned against the bus, "Not much. How about you?"

"Same for me."

He smiled, "Awesome. You look really pretty by the way."

I tried not to laugh, "Thanks Bobby."

David grabbed his stuff out of the car and came over to where we were, "She's got a boyfriend you know."

I put my arm around David's shoulders, "He's right. But thanks for the compliment."

"Anytime."

I stepped to the side and climbed on the bus. Jeff pushed past the rest of us to claim the back seats. It was one of those coach buses that were really nice. I didn't mind those buses. They rickety yellow ones were annoying.

Jeff and Bobby sat in the very last row and David and I sat right in front of them. David put our bags in the overhead storage bin and took a seat next to me. He leaned his head back. I brushed my fingers through his hair playfully. He flashed a half smile.

"Okay, you can get your much needed sleep now."

He nodded, "I know. Talk to you in a few hours."

He pulled his iPod out of his pocket and turned it on. That was everyone's cue to not bother him. He got a little whiny when people woke him up. But other than that, he was a really patient person. He rarely complained.

The one time I really heard him complain was when we had to do a project in Health requiring us to take care of a baby doll with real baby like qualities. Halfway through the year, classes switched for Gym and Health. David ended up being in my health class. That was just a little awkward.

They had us pick names out of a hat to determine who our partners would be. Completely coincidentally, I picked David's name. I had been shocked and relieved that I had picked someone normal. I couldn't imagine having to spend a week with someone totally weird. It worked since I spent all my time with him anyways.

From the minute they gave us the baby doll, the thing was crying. It was easy to tell that this would be a project from hell. I don't think I will ever forget the image of David cowering in my couch with his head covered with a pillow yelling, "Please make it stop!" numerous times. Every now and then I would remind him of that. He didn't like it when I did that.

He had tried to be nice to 'it' but that didn't work. His naturally loving attitude clearly didn't work on plastic screaming baby dolls. We even tried to name it if that would help make it feel a little more loved. But after hours of continuous screaming, David dubbed the doll, It. That actually was rational since it wasn't real.

I think we had tried everything to get the thing to be quiet. By the fourth night, David had resorted to just staring at it waiting for the thing to shut up. And the few times It did be quiet, I think David was ready to burst into tears. He barely got any sleep that whole week.

The day we got to hand the doll in, David made it a point to let our teacher know that we got a defective baby. He took in one deep breath.

"I get that the point of this activity was to show us what its like to be a parent and make smart decisions and I totally understand. I promise I will be responsible and not get someone pregnant. On that note, please do not ever give me one of those things again. It stopped crying for ten minutes at the most. I am not even kidding."

The teacher smiled, "I take it you learned the most from this project."

We got an A. Apparently we clearly got the message of the project. I think that was the first time it was evidently hard for David to get an A on something. He didn't even have to try hard. He was just naturally really smart. I would ask him on certain days when there were tests going on if he had studied. He always said no. Then a week later when we got them back he always got at least an A minus. Sometimes it just wasn't fair. Not really to me. But more for all the other guys in the world. Because in comparison, all of them sucked pretty badly. I felt kind of bad for them.

A few hours passed. I had fallen asleep too. Not for that long though. I woke up a little while later leaning on David's shoulder. It didn't bother him one bit. I looked out the windows. I could tell we were getting close once I started seeing the little colorful beach houses popping up everywhere. I was pretty sure my mom had one somewhere. It might have been in like Malibu or some place a little higher class.  
Maybe she had her own house on some island in the Caribbean. I had no idea. I hadn't talked to her in years. I hadn't planned to anytime in the near future.

The bus stopped after a few minutes of colorful beach houses. We were parked outside the hotel we would be staying at. I sighed and looked over at David. He was completely asleep. It was really cute. I had this strange thing with seeing him sleep. I thought it was fascinating for some weird reason. I was the only one who could wake him up though. He wouldn't let anyone else do it. I carefully nudged him.

"Hey. We're here."

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Already?"

I smiled, "It was three hours."

"Oh. It went fast."

He took out his headphones and stood up. He grabbed my bag from the overhead bin. I stood up and got out of the seats. The people started to unload and head into the hotel. They handed each group a key and told them to go to the rooms.

I had no idea how things would be sharing a room with three guys. I couldn't remember the last time I had stayed in a hotel. I really hadn't traveled all that much recently. David opened the door and set down the stuff on the beds. He looked over at the one near the window.

"I call this one."

Bobby nodded, "Fine. I get the other one."

Jeff crossed his arms, "You suck."

Bobby spread a prideful smile across his face, "Sorry. Better luck next time," He quickly changed the subject, "So who is ready to head down to the beach?"

David unzipped his bag, "Give me ten minutes or so. I'll meet you down there."

Bobby and Jeff had come in their bathing suits. I had just worn clothes. Bathing suits weren't my thing. They headed out the door and down the hallway. I figured we would find them somewhere on the beach. David looked up.

"You didn't come in yours?"

I shook my head, "No. I hate bathing suits."

"That makes two of us."

I smirked, "I won't even try to guess why."

He smiled back, "It shows too much skin. Especially for me."

I took a seat on the bed, "Especially for you?"

"Yeah. Don't give me that lecture again."

"Well, I think you might need it."

He grabbed his suit out of the bag, "I'll be right back."

He quickly headed into the bathroom and changed. He came out as he slid his white t-shirt on. He was seriously going to wear that thing all day. I headed into the bathroom after him and put mine on. I put on a tank top and shorts over it though. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and brushed my fingers through it a few times. I stepped out and grabbed my towel and my phone out of my bag and we headed down to meet Bobby and Jeff.

"So I take it the bathing suit is from Hollister?"

He looked down and nodded, "Yeah. I had to take advantage of the employee discount again."

David had gotten a job working part time at the Hollister in the mall near us. The only reason he had the job was because Bobby got a job there too but needed someone to help him out and make it look like he could do the job. So David got hired as well. He didn't even wear Hollister clothing. He bought a few shirts and a pair of jeans to wear on his shifts. He didn't ever wear them any other time.

"Nice. You look good."

He shook his head, "Is there anytime you don't say that?"

"Umm…No?"

He smiled and put his arm around my waist.

We got down to the beach and started to look for Bobby and Jeff. They were not too far from the stairs from the street. David set his towel down next to Bobby's. He took a seat and put his sunglasses on. I set mine down next to David's. I think Bobby was upset that I wore clothing over my bathing suit.

Bobby lowered his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose. He directed his attention over to a group of hot girls across the beach. Bobby nudged Jeff who looked that way too. David noticed.

"Okay, you guys can go over there. Just don't be creepy. Please."

Bobby was already starting to head there, "Yeah, yeah. Sure."

David shook his head. I always found it funny how he had to keep them under control. They were always doing something they shouldn't be. Never anything bad, just reckless and most of the time stupid.

I smiled, "How did I know?"

David smiled back, "It's never hard to guess with those two. They need girlfriends badly."

"I can tell. Didn't you promise to find them ones?"

I came and took Bobby's seat next to David. He glanced over at me, "Yeah. I think I did. That was a while ago though. Maybe they forgot."

"Then you're off the hook. So are you going to do anything here?"

He smiled, "Like what?"

"Like normal stuff to do at the beach."

"Maybe. I'm going to try to make it out of here with out burning. So far, it's not looking so hot."

I laughed quietly, "Aw. You don't tan at all?"

He shook his head, "Nope. I burn easily. And it hurts."

I smiled, "That sucks."

He nodded, "I know."

I smiled, "Are you going to do anything else?"

"Examples?"

"Like go in the water or at least move?"

He smiled, "Maybe."

I nodded, "Maybe?"

"What? I'm not too big on getting wet."

"Oh. Me neither."

He looked over at me, "But I will go in if you go in."

I smiled, "You will?"

He nodded, "I guess. I don't see why not."

I stood up and slid down my shorts. David shook his head.

"Right now?"

I pulled off my top, "Umm…yes."

He stood up and slowly pulled his shirt over his head. I was impressed that didn't take more persuading. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer to the water.

"What if it's cold?"

I laughed, "Too bad."

I stuck my toes in the edge of the water. It was pretty cold. It would take a little getting used to. I headed in more to about waist deep. David followed hesitantly. I turned to him as he shivered.

"I told you it would be freezing."

I splashed the water up at him. He blocked his face. I laughed.

"That was mean."

I smiled, "I know. You'll get over it."

He shook his head, "How immature."

"Me? Immature?"  
I splashed him again and started to flee. David quickly grabbed my waist and pulled me back into him. I leaned back against his chest. He held me tightly.

"I'm not going to let you get away."

I laughed, "You ruined my evil plan."

He looked down, "I can get over that."

I turned around with him still holding me, "You can?"

He nodded, "Of course."

He leaned down and kissed me softly. I pressed myself even closer to him. I ran my hands down to his chest. I could feel him shivering.

"Aw. You're shivering."

He nodded slowly, "Yeah I know."

I smiled, "See, the trick is to go under and get all wet. It's easier after that."

He nodded as if he was thinking the idea over, "Are you sure?"

I crossed my arms, "Now would I lie to you?"

He shook his head with a sweet smile, "I would hope not."

He took in a deep breath and dunked his head underwater. A few seconds later he came back up and shook out his hair.

"You lied. That is freezing."

I laughed, "Aw. It's okay. You'll get used to it."

He rolled his eyes, "If I get hypothermia its all on you."

"I can live with that."

I ran my fingers through his hair and messed with it a little. He stopped me.

"Stop," he laughed, "You know how I feel about people touching my hair."

"Yes I do. It looks cute when it's all wet."

He shook his head again, "When you find something I do that's not cute, let me know."

I smiled again, "Okay. I will. But expect to be waiting a really long time."

"I can hold out."

I rested my hands on his waist, "Good."

He brought one hand up to the side of my face and rested it on my cheek.

"I love you."

I blushed, "I love you too."

I moved my head lower to his chest and gently kissed him. He raised my head off his chest and smiled.

"Are you freezing yet?"

He nodded, "I was freezing from the minute I got in."

I laughed, "You're a baby."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

I shook my head, "No. Just as long as you're my baby."

He smiled again, "I can do that."

He moved his hand to my chin and pulled me forward and onto his lips.

"You want to head back to the towels?"

He nodded, "That might be better."

I headed back to the towel and wrapped it around myself to dry. David quickly grabbed his towel and put his shirt back on. He took a seat and fixed his hair.

"Better?"

He smiled, "Yeah. A little bit. I think I'm burnt though."

"Aw. Poor baby."

"I know."

He made a pouty face. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"You'll survive."

He nodded, "Of course. You think we should head up soon to get ready to go out later?"

"Sure. Where are you planning on taking me?"

"Can't you ever just take a surprise?"

I shook my head, "Nope. I can't."

"So I've noticed."

He stood up and held out his hand to help me up. I took it and grabbed my towel.

"What about Bobby and Jeff?"

David glanced across the beach for them, "Eh. They'll figure it out. They aren't total idiots. They can text me if they are really confused."

I shrugged, "True. I wonder how things are going with those girls they found."

He shook his head and looked down, "I don't want to know."

I smiled and put my arm around his waist as we headed up to the room. I was quick to call the shower first. I hated the feeling of being on a beach with all the sand sticking to every exposed part of my body. It felt gross. I took a quick shower and put on a pair of jeans with a t shirt for now. I would find something else nicer later.

David and I switched as he went into the bathroom. I took a seat on one of the beds and flipped on the TV. Hotel channels never had the normal channels you have at home. They were all messed up and in different languages. It didn't make sense. I had taken Spanish for years but I was pretty terrible. If I ever went to Mexico they would have no idea how to talk to me there. I did awful in that class. It was so complicated to get considering the teacher didn't speak English. It wasn't that he wanted to encourage our Spanish by not speaking English; it was that he had no idea how to speak English. So there was no way to ask any questions or nothing.

David came out a few minutes later. He had put his white shirt back on and jeans. He headed to his bag and grabbed a new shirt out. This one was a little nicer. He slid back into the bathroom to change. He stepped out a minute later and finished buttoning his tight black shirt. I liked his selection.

He took one of the combs from his bag and fixed his hair. I sifted through my bag to find a different outfit to wear. I pulled out a denim skirt and a tan shirt. I slipped into the bathroom to change out of my not so nice outfit. I brushed through my hair a few times to dry it. I wasn't going to bother straightening it tonight. I was just going to let it stay curly for now. I grabbed a pair of heels out of my bag and added them to the outfit. I stepped out again and took a seat on the bed. David's phone started ringing. He answered quickly.

"Hello?"

It had to have been Bobby or Jeff.

"No. We left. Sam and I are in the room getting ready,"

I could hear just a little of what he was saying.

"Yeah, we're going out. Okay. Bye."

He hung up and shook his head, "They thought we got kidnapped or something."

I laughed, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yup. Because when someone gets kidnapped, they take all their stuff with them right?"

"Apparently we do."

"I guess so. They should be back up soon. They won't take long to get ready."

David walked back into the bathroom again. He ran his fingers through his golden brown hair and took a step back to spray himself with cologne. I came into the bathroom and put my hands on his sides and rested my head against his back. He smiled and turned around.

"What?"

I shrugged, "Nothing. You just look very adorable."

He blushed, "Thanks. You look very pretty too."

"Thank you."

I leaned in and met at his lips. He hopped up and took a seat on the bathroom counter. I moved in closer and brought my hands to the back of his neck. He ran his hands down my back and sides. I could feel his smile behind my lips as I leaned him more and more into the counter.

He slid himself off carefully and moved me against the bathroom door. I was hesitant to keep going knowing that Bobby and Jeff were on their way. We head a knock at the door.

David pulled away, "Damn. Always interrupting us."

I smiled, "How dare they. Don't worry. We can resume later on."

He left the bathroom and answered the door.

Bobby took a seat on the bed, "I thought something happened to you guys."

David shook his head, "No. We're fine."

"I can tell. You come up here to make yourself look hot and stuff and leave us at the beach."

"So? How did things go with those girls down there?"

Jeff leaned against the wall, "Good. I got a few numbers."

David glanced at him. Jeff crossed his arms, "Fine. I didn't. But they still talked to us for a little while."

David laughed and rolled up his sleeves a little bit, "That's what I thought. Sam and I are going out if you want to come."

Bobby looked up, "Where are you guys going?"

"I guess out to dinner and then maybe to one of the nightclubs down the road from here."

Bobby sat up, "A night club?"

David nodded, "Yeah why not? I'm eighteen. I can get in. I just can't drink there."

"Okay, I think I need to come now. Give me a few minutes and I will be ready to go."

Bobby stood up and started going through clothes in his bag. The idea of him being in a nightclub was scary. Once both of them were all done getting ready, we headed out.

We ate at a cool little restaurant on the water and headed to the nightclub right after. I had been to one a few times before. That was only because I got snuck in though. I couldn't really dance. I know that Nicole had no trouble dancing on tables and hooking up with people she didn't know. And this was only when she left Brian out.

It was a lot easier to get in since I was now actually allowed to get in. They had to ask me for my ID since I must have looked a lot younger than eighteen. David had no problem getting in. He could pass for twenty three or so. Bobby and Jeff didn't have that hard a time getting in either. It's not like we were going to do anything bad.

We found a seat at a small table near the dance floor. I wasn't one for dancing at all. I'm sure that was obvious.

"So you're going to dance with me right?"

I looked up at David, "Huh? What happened to your whole 'I can't dance' thing?"

"Yeah, I still go by that, but I figured I would have some fun."

"Oh. Okay then. I guess I will."

David actually was pretty good at it. I had forced him to try out for the school play back a few months ago. He ended up getting a lead part. Since he was going to be doing a bunch of rehearsals and I wouldn't get much time to see him, I signed up for crew. I was in charge of doing hair and makeup since I was pretty good at that.

He had one solo number where he had to sing and dance. It wasn't basic either it was pretty complicated actually. He had to do all kinds of things including singing while standing on his hands. I would have fallen on my face if that were me. He looked like an idiot most of the time, but he did a really good job with it. I was very impressed. He was a really good actor too. He could have had a career in that. Singing was more his thing though.

Despite his rock sounding voice, he could pull of musical theater pretty well. I told him that he could take over for Zac Efron in High School Musical as a joke. I think he thought I was serious. It didn't seem to excite him all that much. That was almost like the time I compared David, Bobby and Jeff to the Jonas Brothers.

After a few minutes of just relaxing, two really pretty girls came up to the table. They immediately positioned themselves next to David. The one blonde girl put her arm around his chair.

"So my friend and I were wondering if you wanted to come dance with us."

He looked over to his side at me, "Umm…I'm actually with someone. Sorry."

They both looked disappointed, "Aw. That's a shame."

David looked over at Bobby and Jeff, "But both of my friends are available."

The girls looked over at Bobby and Jeff, "Oh. Okay then."

They quickly moved over to the other side of the table and started flirting with them. They both looked delighted by the sudden presence of pretty girls. After a few minutes, they got up and went on to the dance floor. I doubted we would be seeing them for a while.

"Wow you must be their favorite person right about now."

He nodded, "I know. That's why I did it."

I moved my arm up to his shoulders and pulled myself closer to him. "You didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart?"

He smiled, "Maybe a little bit."

I turned his head to me and kissed him gently. David stood up and took my hand to get me out of my chair. I shook my head.

"Don't make me do this."

He smirked, "Too late."

I moved my hands to his waist and swayed his hips side to side just to tease him. But he went along with it. I hadn't really seen him dance outside of the theater.

"I could have never seen you as the grinding type."

He smiled, "Are you kidding? This isn't grinding. I don't even think I can do that."

He ran his hands down my sides and moved my hips back like I did to his. I had to admit I was a little uncomfortable. I couldn't dance at all and I must have looked like an idiot trying to dance.

He smiled, "What?"

"I can't dance. You know that."

"Calm down. Don't worry about it."

I pressed myself up against him, "Fine then."

For not being a dancer, I had to say, I wasn't doing bad. I was just doing what David was leading me to do. I wasn't sure what to do myself. I needed help. After we danced for a while, we both took a break. It was really hot with all the other people dancing near you.

David leaned his head back, "Wow, so many people in a cramped space make it so hot and sweaty. It's actually kind of gross."

I smiled, "Hot and sweaty normally are gross."

"Hahaha. Thanks for pointing out my obviousness."

"You're welcome."

He smiled back. I melted every time I got a sweet smile from him. It was one of my favorite physical qualities of his. I think his eyes were almost tied.

Bobby and Jeff took seat back at the table. They looked very accomplished. It was amusing. David crossed his arms.

"So…How did things go?"

Bobby shut his eyes and nodded, "Amazing."

I laughed, "Amazing? Really? What did you do?"

He was still in a daze, "That's for me to know, and none of you to find out."

David sat up, "What? Wait, really?"

Bobby shook his head, "Not that you perv. Still just amazing."

Jeff looked slightly more calm, "I agree with him. It was awesome."

David looked slightly disgusted. It was a first time for me to see two almost adult boys drooling and close to fainting. It was weird.

David shook his head, "Okay, you guys need to get back to the room fast. Let's go."

We all stood up and headed back to the hotel. I was pretty exhausted myself. Bobby and Jeff took their locations on the beds and couches, whichever they decided on.

David and I took the other bed.

Bobby and Jeff were asleep in seconds. I didn't blame them though. I changed into a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I pulled myself under the covers. David unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders. He stepped into the bathroom to change into a pair of sweats. He came back out and took a seat on the bed.

I wrapped my arms around him, over his shoulders. He raised one arm up and grabbed me from behind. I laughed and rested my head against his warm, smooth back. He sighed.

"Let's go to bed. I am so beat."

I smiled, "Fine."

I moved back and pulled the covers over myself. David laid down too. I pulled myself closer to him and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled. I leaned back over to flip off the light. I nestled the covers back over me and shut my eyes.

David turned and whispered, "I love you."

I smiled and whispered back, "I love you too."


	3. Chapter 3

More weeks of the summer went on and all past drama that had existed, was gone almost completely. It was really nice not having school to worry about. I just got a chance to be happy. I was basically living with David. Either I was over his house or he was over mine.

Getting to just enjoy myself was awesome. It had been like that since November. I was actually happy. It was amazing how much one person could give you just by being there for you and loving you unconditionally. It was like a saving grace for me.

By the time it was the end of July, the heat had drove me crazy. I did tan though, which was good. Maybe burned a little too. I know David did quite a bit. I felt bad.

He played Bobby in a basketball game for an hour and had turned slightly red. And he came back with several scrapes and bruises from when Bobby pushed him. Because his injuries were never his fault apparently. I didn't really believe that.

David still hadn't heard anything from any schools and it started to make him even more nervous. I had to keep my hopes up that he would get in somewhere soon. It was making me nervous too.

In the meantime, I had to start getting ready to go to school too. There was plenty of shopping to get done. Since I finally was able to get a car, I didn't need David to give me rides everywhere. I headed to the mall early in the day. I didn't need anymore clothes, but I did need another excuse to go shopping. After I spent a bunch of money in other store, I headed to Hollister. Even though I had already gotten David in trouble a few times for having personal conversations when there were customers.

I found him arranging some of the t-shirts near the front.

"Excuse me; do you know where the sale items are?"

He barely looked up, "In the back and to the-," He looked all the way up, "Oh. I'm sorry miss. We don't have anything on sale today. Well, we might once you leave."

I laughed, "Oh thanks."

He smiled and stood up, "You are very welcome."

I glanced over his outfit quickly, "Nice clothes."

He shook his head, "Stop. It's not my first choice for what I would wear on a regular day."

"You look fine."

"Thanks. I hate this brand. Especially the jeans. They are so freaking loose."

I smiled, "Yeah I can tell since they keep falling down," I reached around and pulled his pants up a little bit, "Your boxers were showing."

He shook his head, "I'm not surprised. They're boxer briefs by the way."

"Oh my mistake. Are they from here too?"

"No. I wouldn't wear underwear from Hollister. They just sell regular boxers, but you're supposed to wear them as shorts I guess? I have no idea. They have more for girls than they do guys. It's really weird."

I laughed, "Why haven't you quit yet?"

"I don't know. I think my boss is this close to firing me though."

I crossed my arms, "What did you do now?"

He shrugged, "I don't know! I really don't. He just doesn't like me."

"Oh I'm sure. I don't think it's possible not to like you."

"I guess it is. I have quite a few people off the top of my head who might not like me."

"Yeah, sure. That's their loss though."

He nodded, "Of course it is. So I think we should hang out tonight."

"Let's be serious, when don't we hang out?"

He smiled, "Good point. But I have something planned. Do you want me to pick you up around 6?"

I nodded, "That's fine. Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

His face and voice sounded suddenly emotionless, "No. I just really think we need to hang out tonight. It's important."

I got a little nervous, "Is everything okay?"

He sighed, "Yeah. Things are okay."

"You sure?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I'll see you then."

I smiled and headed back out to the main mall. It was only twelve. I had a lot of time left. I headed back home and started getting organized to go to school. I had a few weeks but I had nothing better to do.

By the time six rolled around, I was all ready to go. I wanted to know what was so important that David had to tell me. I had the worst sense of curiosity. I always wanted to know everything even though it might be awful.

I tried to look nice. He said it was important. I didn't want to act like it wasn't. Because all the things I thought were important, were really kind of minor. But when he said they were important, they really were. So this had to be something.

The doorbell rang promptly at six. I opened the door. David looked up and smiled.

"Hey! You look gorgeous."

I blushed, "Thanks. You look adorable as usual."

He shook his head and held out his hand for me. I took it and leaned against his shoulder. We got in his car and started to drive. He pulled up to a cute little restaurant in town and got out. I honestly didn't care where we went. He always picked good places. His mom squealed on him and told me she gives him the ideas when it comes to places to eat. He still didn't know that I knew.

We got a table and sat down. I smiled and glanced over David's outfit. A nice plaid short sleeve button down with what looked like, newer jeans. I approved. Well, I always did.

"So how was the rest of your afternoon?"

I shrugged, "Uneventful."

He smiled, "Oh, you should have stayed at work with me. You could have seen my boss yell at me."

"Aw. Why did you get yelled at?"

He shook his head, "I have no idea. I just know that he was pretty pissed off. I wasn't paying much attention."

I laughed, "Okay then. So when you get fired you probably won't know why?"

"Eh. It's on the way"

"Well, that sucks."

He nodded, "Yeah, he loves Bobby though. Which is a little twisted since he does nothing."

That sounded typical, "Why does that not surprise me?"

He smiled again, "It's expected."

"Of course. It's Bobby."

He shook his head. It sounded like Bobby. He was a special one.

"So what did you do the other night? We didn't hang out."

He nodded, "Oh…I was babysitting."

I smiled, "Aw. Adam let you?"

"Yeah. There were rules though."

"Like what?!"

David sighed, "Well last time I was over there, I let her have all kinds of candy and ice cream and stuff, so she was all hyper when Adam got home. So this time, she wasn't allowed to have ice cream. Which actually meant I couldn't have any either because if she saw me with it, she would want some. So that sucked. But the rest of the night was fine."

"What did you do?!"

"Whatever she wanted. I can't say no."

I laughed pretty quietly, "I think I can tell."

"And this is why I don't have kids. They would be so spoiled."

I smiled at the idea of him having kids and giving into their every want and need.

"So maybe they'll be smart enough to know that when their mom says no, they go to daddy and he'll say yes."

He nodded, "Most likely."

Dinner came and the night passed. We left the restaurant and went for a walk. We never just went on a date and went home. It always ended up getting prolonged somehow. I kind of had the idea that something big was going to happen really soon. David said this was important. So far nothing of obvious importance had occurred.

"So have you been packing for school?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I did this afternoon. I don't know how I'm going to be able to fit some of this in my suitcases."

"Well, if you put some more stuff in boxes and give it to my mom, she can ship it out to Boston for you."

"I won't make her do that."

"No. It's not a problem."

I smiled, "For you its not. She'll have to ship you stuff when you find out where you're going."

He suddenly became cold and slightly detached. I wondered what I had said to set him off like that. It was really obvious when he was in a bad mood or if he was upset. Because the change from happy to sad with him was so drastic. Even when he was just a little off or stressed, you could tell.

"Yeah. I guess so."

Since we were on the topic of school, I figured I would ask the one question I had been concerned about for a while.

"So have you heard from any schools yet?"

I really hoped he had. All the schools he applied to were in the same general area as mine. Maybe a half hour away at most. I know he had been stressed about it all week. I didn't get how he wasn't already accepted. He got really great SAT scores. I was kind of jealous of how ridiculously smart he was.

I had learned not to say David was perfect, because there is no such thing. But he had to be the closest thing. He would say the same about me. I didn't get that. I wasn't all that great. Especially when you compared me to him. I came up awfully short every time.

He stopped and looked down, "Yeah. I did."

He was quiet. That wasn't normal for him. He was easily one of the most talkative people I knew. I could tell something was wrong. I decided to be supportive anyways.

"Really?! What school?"

David turned to me, still looking down. "I got accepted into UCLA."

"UCLA?! Like in California?!"

He nodded.

Everything stopped. I stood absolutely still. I couldn't move at all. I was pretty sure my heart wasn't beating, until I heard it echoing in my ears loud and clear. But I was positive that I wasn't breathing. It seemed as though everything good that had happened to me in the several months, was crashing down on top of me. Like it was suffocating me, which would explain the not breathing part.

UCLA was a good school and all but it was nowhere close to where I would be. I could barely take 3 miles away none the less 3000. I was going to try and make an attempt at say something without crying or showing how I really felt. But as soon as I opened my mouth, I couldn't do it. Still not breathing and still not moving.

"So you're leaving?"

He nodded, "I guess so."

I wasn't going to take this well, "What happened to the whole 'I'm never leaving you' thing that you always tell me? Does that matter anymore?"

He looked genuinely upset, "Sam, please don't make it like this."

I felt bad seeing the pain in his eyes and hearing it in his voice. I doubted he wanted to leave me. I don't think that was his first choice. He wanted to go to a school near me, not in California.

I sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. It was just the first thing that came out and I…don't know what else to say."

"I know. I honestly never thought things would end up this way."

I immediately thought the worst, "So you want to break up with me?"

He looked shocked, "No! I don't want to break up with you. That's the last thing I want."

That was the last thing I wanted too. But long distance relationships were never all that great.

"David, I don't know how a long distance relationship is going to work out."

"I can make it work out. Don't tell me you're about to give up on me?"

I shook my head, "No. I don't want to give up on you. I just don't know how this could work."

I had no idea why I was being so doubtful. I guess I couldn't help it when everything was so confusing and heartbreaking.

"Believe me; I will make this work out. I promise. I will call you everyday. Or text you. Whatever you want. I'll do it."

I smiled, "Thanks. I guess you're right."

He smiled, "I know I'm right."

I smiled back, "Yeah," I just couldn't get over the idea of not having him around, "I don't know if I can do this though."

"What do you mean by that?! There are other things you have to live for besides me."

I shook my head, "No I don't. What else do I have? I don't have a family. You, Bobby and Jeff are some of my only friends. I don't have much but you David. I just don't. I can't grasp how things are going to be with you gone."

He sighed. I was right and he knew it. I didn't have much. I had looks and money. And him. But that was all I had to rely on. I wasn't normally this negative. But without David, I had no idea who I was.

When I first met him, I didn't know where I was going. I was so completely lost. I thought I would end up going no where. But that completely changed. I had found it so hard to see what was so great about me. I had never gotten such sincere compliments before. It was all so new to me. Nor had I ever had a decent boyfriend.

"Sam, please don't think like that. And the thing is, when winter break comes, we can pretend like we were never apart. Okay?"

I nodded trying to hold back tears, "Okay," I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his shoulder, "I'm going to miss you so much."

He hugged me back, "I'm going to miss you too."

I felt like that wasn't enough of what I wanted to say. I didn't even have words for what I wanted to say. There was no way to express it. I wanted him to be successful and be able to have a good life. But obviously, for the next four years, I wouldn't be all that big a part of it sadly.

I was waiting for something else to be said. But nothing was. It was silent for a few seconds. I stepped away before I started crying. It was going to happen sooner or later. Preferably not for David to see. I was sure he already felt bad about this. I didn't want him feeling worse. Maybe I would later on when I got home.

"You want me to bring you home?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

He wrapped his arm around my waist and rested me on his shoulder until we got to the car. I didn't talk the whole way home. I still didn't have words. By the time we got to my house, I was so relieved. I couldn't hold it in much longer. I was trying to be as strong as I could. But all my pain was showing through.

I sighed, "So, I guess, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

David nodded silently.

"Night. I…I love you."

He turned his head my way, "I love you too."

That had to have been the only time I ever hesitated. Its not like I was saying it like that because I didn't anymore, it was because I was so afraid of getting attached to him before he left. I was already attached to him. There was no way I could make myself stop loving him and not care that he was leaving. I wanted to try and make myself a little more invulnerable though.

I got out and quickly headed to the door. I was so done for the night. By the time I hit the door, tears started flowing rapidly. I wasn't holding anything back. I wasn't planning on talking to anyone. Not one person. I was actually refusing. I didn't care who it was. I was not up for it.

I crashed on the bed and continued my bawling. I felt like such a baby. I can't remember the last time I cried this hard. It had to have been a while ago. Nothing had been this bad for me to actually break down like this. It was awful. It really was.

I didn't even want to know what I looked like. My makeup was probably all smeared and my eyes all puffy. I was sure that the tears might have left permanent lines on my face. That they had dug in so much to leave tracks and evidence of sadness. Sadness that I would have to deal with for a long time.

I couldn't figure out how this had all happened. Everything was shattered and torn apart. Maybe I was overreacting and this wouldn't be that bad. Maybe I needed it. But either way, I was going to be a mess. The poor girl who ends up being my roommate is in for it. She would have to deal with a lot of crying for a while until I got used to this.

I eventually was able to cry myself to sleep. For some reason it was relieving the fact that I could sleep. I was expecting to be up all night like that. Luckily that wasn't the case. I would have to get used to this. Maybe I would eventually become immune to it. Right?


	4. Chapter 4

After the initial shock and pain was over, things went back to normal, for the most part. I was just trying to ignore the fact that he was leaving and enjoy whatever time we had left. There wasn't much. I was still hesitant about how things would work out with us being so far away.

By the time it was the night before David left, which was also the night before I left home, I had grown a little number to a lot of things. It was rough to think about it being just me again. I hated the idea of that. It was a scary thought I had to face.

David's mom invited a bunch of family over to have dinner so they got the chance to say goodbye to him before he left. It was mostly his close family members like Rob, Karen, Adam, Gracie and a few others I was semi familiar with.

The whole time, I was trying not to say anything because I would most likely start crying or something. It was going to be tough. I had held tears in for a while. I just didn't have anymore feeling. It was tough though.

I was trying to keep in mind that tomorrow, David would be gone. And I didn't know when the next time I would see him was. I had a rough idea. But that was all I had. Maybe somewhere near Christmas.

The conversations didn't necessarily revolve around David and school. That was relieving. I just didn't want to talk about it. I didn't like pretending that it wasn't happening, but I had to for now so I didn't make myself look like an idiot in front of David's whole family.

Just as everyone started to leave, Gracie started crying. She quickly ran and wrapped her arms around David.

"I don't want you to leave."

I guess she didn't realize that he was going. She may have just taken this as another opportunity to hang out with her favorite uncle.

David bent down to her level, "Aw. I'm coming back."

She threw her arms around him, "When?!"

I listened to the distressed tone of her voice. I couldn't help but feel the same way she did. Only it was acceptable for her to let it out. She was three. I was eighteen. I had to grow up and be mature about this. Gracie could get away with it.

"I'm going to be home for Christmas okay?"

She nodded as he wiped her tears, "Okay. Are you going to bring me presents?"

David laughed with a slightly broken smile, "Of course."

"So you won't get to babysit again?"

"Not for a little while. I'm gonna need you to be a good girl for daddy okay?"

She nodded, "Maybe."

David laughed again, "Maybe? What's that all about?"

Adam crossed his arms from across the room, "Yeah. I want to know too."

David pulled her into him, "I'm not kidding. Be a good girl and I'm going to see you very soon. Okay?"

She stepped away, "Okay. I'm gonna miss you."

I could tell David was going to tear up any second, "I'm going to miss you too. I love you."

She hugged him again, "I love you too."

She stepped away and kissed him on the cheek. She skipped back over to Adam and left.

After they all left, David and I headed back into his room. I had tried my hardest not to cry that whole time. It was straining on me. David sat down. I could tell that there was something absent from him tonight. I was guessing he felt the same way I did.

"So…"

I sighed and sat down next to him, "So…"

He moved one arm around me, "So is there anything you want to do? You know, for our last night together?"

I shook my head and stood up, "Would you please stop saying it like that?!"

"Sam, what else do you want me to say? For now, it is our last night together."

I felt the tears coming on, "Is this your way of telling me that you don't want this anymore? By going away? Is this what you want? Because that's how I feel!"

He looked hurt. I didn't mean it. All that just came pouring out, "Can you please tell me why you are being like this?"

"I have no idea. I don't know if you realize how hard it is to deal with this!"

He nodded, "I do understand! I feel the exact same way! I don't want this at all. I really don't. I hate this whole thing!"

I had never really heard him yell before. It was so unusual. We never fought. But we were fighting now because we clearly agreed on something.

"You do?!"

He signaled me to sit down, "Of course. I don't want to leave you. That's the last thing I want. I just want to be with you."

I sat down next to him. David pulled me up onto his knees and wrapped his arms around me. I felt safety and love return fast. I rested against his chest and cried into his shoulder.

I had been holding back all my fears until now, "I'm just so scared about all of this."

David tightened his grip and wrapped me in his warmth, "What are you scared about?"

"Everything. I mean, how will I handle this? What will this be like? Is it going to tear us apart or just make us closer when we come home? I have no idea and the uncertainty scares me a lot."

He sighed, "You're going to be okay. I know you will. Its going to be strange and painful at first, but you will get used to it. And when we come back here, it will be like nothing has changed. I've told you all that."

I sobbed more into his shoulder, "I'm also scared that something will happen to you and I'll be far away and helpless."

He brought his hand to the back of my head and gently rested it in my curls, "Baby, nothing is going to happen to me. I'm going to be just fine. Believe me. You just have to trust me with this."

I sighed again, trying to catch my breath, "Also if you find some gorgeous model that is way prettier than me. I don't stand a chance with any beach bikini girl in California."

He lifted my face out of his shoulder, "That is something you will _never_ have to worry about. If I had the choice between all of the girls in some Victoria's Secret magazine and you…there would be no competition. I would pick you over any other girl in the world. No one gets more gorgeous than you. I wouldn't let you go for anything. Nothing will break this apart for me. I promise. I said I would never leave you. Even though physically, I am. I will never stop loving you and you will always be mine. No other girl will ever have my heart the way you do. No one else will ever get this kind of love from me. Never."

I instantly started crying again. He was telling the truth.

"I love you so much."

David held me again closer to him than before. It was just so comforting and made me not want him to leave more.

"I love you too."

I was hugging him so tightly, I was afraid I was breaking him. It was verging on squeezing, but a little gentler. I picked my head up and met my lips to his. I moved my hands to the sides of his face and brushed up against his fairly obvious five o'clock shadow, that had somehow turned into a five o'clock yesterday shadow. I pulled myself away before I got too attached. I was afraid it was too late for that. Trying to reel myself away from him wasn't going to make anything easier.

David brought his hands to my face and wiped my tears for me.

"I don't even want to know what I look like right now."

David smiled, "You look beautiful."

I blushed, "Thanks. I'm sure I don't though."

He shook his head, "Of course you do."

He stood up and held out his hand to help me up. I took it and stood up as well.

"Look, I got something to show you."

My bad curiosity was sparked again. I had no choice but to follow. We headed up a pair of staircase near the back of his house that I had never seen before. I didn't know that my boyfriend had hidden staircases in his house. He led me upstairs where it emptied out to where his mom and stepdads room was.

His mom appeared in the doorway, "Is everything okay?"

David nodded, "Yeah. Things are fine."

She smiled as if she knew what he was up to, "Alright. Be careful."

We moved down the hall a little to a small room with a small window in the corner.

"What's this?"

David smiled, "Our storage room. It's where we keep old stuff that my mom refuses to throw away. There's probably clothes from when I was a baby hidden somewhere in here."

I smiled back, "That's cute."

He nodded, "But that's not the cool part."

He stepped near the window in the corner and pushed it open. He slid one leg out and leaned against the pane. He signaled me to come over by him. He moved the other half of his body out the window and onto the roof. He held out his hands for me as I did the same as he did. He made sure I was okay and didn't hurt myself before I took a seat next to him on the roof.

I looked out at the view. The city skyline glimmered in the distance and the quiet streets of the suburban neighborhood were silent for the most part. The rush of cars downtown was the only sound I could hear. It was haunting and relaxing all at the same time. I looked up at the stars. I had never seen them shine so bright around here. The last time they looked this beautiful was on New Years at the ski lodge.

"It's gorgeous up here."

David nodded, "I know. I'm always up here. Whenever I need a break from things, it's nice to…take a minute just to breathe."

He always worded things so nicely. Way better than I could ever think to come up with.

"Yeah. I had no idea you had this kind of view from your house."

"Well, I do. And its one of my favorite places. I'm gonna miss it."

I sighed, "Is there any special reason why we're here?"

He smiled, "That curiosity of yours."

I smiled back, "It gets me in a lot of trouble sometimes."

"Yeah there's a reason. It just puts things in a little more perspective. You know? Like when you look up at the stars, you feel so small. But then you find someone who makes you feel huge and so full. I probably sound like an idiot."

"No. You don't. What were you going to say?"

"Just that, there was nothing before you. I was there, but not really. Everyone that I knew watched me deteriorate in front of their eyes. It was painful. Not only for them but for me. Because I knew I was absent too. The point I'm trying to make is that you make me feel like something. You make me feel a little less small in the universe. There is finally something there. And the next time, you feel like I don't love you anymore, think about that. It's the truth."

I wanted to cry again. I couldn't believe how big an impact I had really made in someone. It almost scared me. I didn't know what to say. I guess I could sort of say the same thing. But I could have never worded it like that. This is why he wrote music. Because everything he said somehow came out beautifully and moving.

"Wow. I don't know what to say."

He smiled, "Okay then. Also, when you look up at the sky and see the stars, you can always remember that I'm seeing the same ones. Then you won't seem so far away. It can be like I'm right next to you. Like right now."

I liked that kind of imagery. I would probably use that. I put my arm around him and moved closer. I rested my head against his shoulder.

"I don't want this to end."

David let out a heavy sigh, "Neither do I," He moved and brought his arm around me and held me close to him, "But this is not over. Not even close."

I smiled, "Good to know. I love you."

"I love you too. I think we should head back inside. Its getting late and I have a long day tomorrow."

I nodded, "Sure."

He slid back into the house first and then helped me in. We headed back down to his room. I guess I would be staying there for the night. It's not like I had a problem with that. It would be the last time in a long time. I actually kept a set of clothes in his room for whenever I stayed over. That way I didn't have to go home and get new ones. They were always there.

I stepped into the bathroom to change. I came back out and took a seat on the bed. David laid down next to me. I couldn't help but think for a minute that, this time tomorrow, I would be alone and almost three thousand miles away from him. It almost made me want to cry again. I lied; it really made me want to cry again.

I rested right next to him and put my arms around him. I could feel him breathing slowly. I felt a little weird that there was nothing to say. I just couldn't come up with anything right now. All I had was begging him to stay with me.

I sighed, "I love you."

He looked down, "I love you too. See you in the morning."

I let go of him and turned on my side. I fell asleep that night, beyond curious as to what my future life would be like. I had no idea. All I knew is that it would not be pretty.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, David and I got up and ready for the day pretty quickly. As much as I wanted to drag this on and on to get more time with him, I knew that wasn't the right thing to do. David's mom gave us both a ride to the airport. My flight took off about two hours after David's.

By the time we got there and said our goodbyes, I was ready to break down again. I didn't want David to leave and I also didn't want to leave. I liked home, despite all the drama. It was a nice place to live. I would miss it a lot.

We headed to the place where we would have to part ways for a few months, right where the gates split. This was it. This was goodbye.

I leaned in and hugged him, knowing it would be a long time before I could do it again. I rested my head against his shoulder.

"Do you have to go?"

I had asked so many times.

He laughed, "Yes I do. It's not like I want to leave you. If I had a choice, I would go wherever you went."

I smiled, still holding onto him. "Sounds good to me. Or I could just come and follow you to California."

He smiled back, "So should I be expecting a visitor?"

I picked my head up, "Maybe."

He shook his head, "Sam, you have to do what you have to do. You'll be fine without me."

"No I won't. I'm going to miss you like crazy."

"I will too."

The announcer came over the intercom and announced that David's plane was now boarding. I wanted to cry and beg him not to leave me. Even if it meant getting on my knees like a little kid would.

He sighed, "That's me."

"No! Please don't go."

I had been begging and pleading for weeks. It hadn't worked.

"Sam. Don't do this. You're making me feel even worse about this. I promise to call you everyday. And If I don't, something is terribly wrong. Winter break will be here sooner than you know it," He paused and looked me in the eyes, "I love you."

I smiled. I melted when he said that. Even though I had heard it so many times before.

"I love you too."

"Promise you'll call me when you get there?"

I nodded. "Promise, it'll be the first thing I do."

He leaned in and gently kissed me on the cheek. I smiled back at him. I let go of the tight grip I had on his jacket. I had to let him go. That was the right thing to do. I tried to keep in mind that winter break was only four months away. Just four. Four was easy to stick with. It was a small number. Except when you put it with months. Then it came to over one hundred days. That wasn't as easy to cope with.

David leaned down and grabbed his bags. I couldn't do anything but stand there and watch him leave. I couldn't move anything. I was just frozen. Almost like how I was when he first told me he had to leave. There was no movement whatsoever.

I watched him board the plane and get on. I still couldn't move, which was painful because I so badly wanted to get on the plane after him. I wanted to go where ever he went. Anything just to not be alone again. I had dealt with that for way to long.

I headed to my gate and took a seat. I felt empty on the inside again. I was blocking out all other noise. I looked down and kept to myself as I waited to board the plane.

They made an announcement for the final boarding call for David's flight. I almost wanted to cry again. It was tough to take in the fact that he was gone. I couldn't do anything to stop it.

My plane boarded and I got to my seat. I looked down at my phone as I was about to shut it off. Looking at all the pictures I had on my phone and computer of David and I would be painful. I turned my phone off and got ready for the flight to take off.

The plane ride seemed to go so slow. I put on my iPod for a little while. I had to turn it off after a little while. Almost all of the songs on there somehow reminded me of David. Some were favorite songs of his; others were ones I could place to a certain place or event when I was with him. I couldn't escape it. No matter how hard I tried to.

The plane landed not much later. I didn't know how long the flight was. I didn't really care though. I got off the plane and headed to baggage claim. I pulled out my phone and turned it back on. I tried to do some math and figure out if David's plane had landed yet. It seemed a little close but I could take a chance.

I dialed his number. It rang once.

"Hello?"

I was so glad to hear his voice again, "Hey! I made it."

"Good. Yeah, I just got in too."

"How was your flight?"

He sighed, "Fine. I don't really like flying."

"Me neither. So how's California?"

"I don't really know yet. LAX is a nice airport though."

"Yeah? Never been."

"I guess so. What about Boston?"

"I don't know yet. I could say the same as you."

"Oh okay. Well, I have to go find baggage claim. I'll call you later."

I sighed, "Okay. Bye. I love you."

"Love you too."

I hung up. As short as the conversation was, it made me feel a little better. As long as those continued, I might end up being okay.

I waited patiently for my bags to come. I looked for a cab to take me to the dorm room I was placed in. I got through all the annoying registration stuff I needed to do and was finally able to relax.

I got to the room. Number 421. I opened the key and headed inside. It was your typical dorm room. There were two beds, a desk, a small living area and a tiny bathroom. Apparently my dorm was one of the only ones on campus with a private bathroom. I guess I got pretty lucky. The walls were pretty bare and gray. The carpet was around the same color, maybe a little lighter. I didn't see anything spectacular about it though. It could use some decorating. I guess I would have to see who my roommate was before I could do anything drastic.

Seeing the second bed, I guessed that I would have a roommate. As long as she was normal, I would be okay with it. If I got someone creepy, this might be a little more difficult. I didn't know how long I would have this relaxing peace for. Maybe a long time, I hoped.

I set my suitcase up against the wall. Outside the room, there were noises of other students getting settled. This would be the perfect time to make some friends. I just didn't have the motivation to do that.

My phone started to ring. I looked at who was calling and immediately picked up.

"Hey!"

"Hey. Did you get settled yet?"

"Yeah I just got to my room. You?"

David sighed, "Same. How is the dorm? Is it nice?"  
I looked around before I gave my answer, "It's a dorm room."

He laughed, "Yeah. I guess there really isn't another way to answer that is there?"

"Nope. Do you have a roommate with you?"

"Actually, no. Since I was so late to get accepted, I got a lovely room to myself."

"You're lucky."

"Why? Do you have one?"

There were more noises coming from the hallway. One voice happened to stick out above all of them. It somehow reminded me of Nicole. I cringed.

"I guess so. No one is here yet. It's just me. Give it a little while and I should have someone with me."

"Good luck. I hope you get someone normal."

The key turned in the door and someone walked in.

"Me too," I lowered my voice a lot, "She just got here."

He lowered his too, "Is she normal?"

She walked in, bumping into me on the bed, causing me to drop my phone and move back onto the bed, and threw her Dolce and Gabbana bag on the bed as she propped her Coach suitcase on the edge of the bed. Wonderful. Snotty little rich girl for my roommate. She turned and looked in the mirror and fixed her short blonde bob. She rearranged her sunglasses on her head and applied more lip gloss. This would be fun to live with.

I had sort of left David hanging on the other end of the phone.

"Sam? Are you still there?"

I quickly grabbed the phone and headed out of the room for a second, "Yeah. I'm still here."

"So what's she like?"

I stuttered, "She's a snotty little rich girl! I don't know if I'll be able to take this!"

He sighed, "Wow. Have you even talked to her yet?"

"No! She came in and bumped me with her Coach suitcase, didn't apologize, then checked herself out in the mirror."

"That reminds me of someone."

I tried to keep quiet in the hallway, "Nicole!"

"Yup. That's it. Are you still in the room?"

"No. I left. I'm in the hallway. I guess I'm going to have to go back in sometime."

He laughed, "Well, if you want a place to sleep."

"I do. Okay, I'm going back in there."

"Do you need me to talk you through this?"

I laughed, "Maybe. Okay, I might have to go. I'll call you a little later."

He sighed, "Talk to you then. Love you."

"I love you too."

I opened the door and took a seat back on the bed. I decided I might have been a little judgmental. I could just be polite and give her a chance.

"Sorry about that. I had to talk to someone real fast."

She glanced over from the mirror, "I don't care."

Okay, maybe this wasn't worth giving a chance. "I'm Sam by the way."

She sat on her bed, "I'm Tara."

I tried to make this not awkward, "So where are you from?"

"New York."

One word answers. Perfect. "Oh that's cool."

She nodded, "Yeah. You?"

I didn't get much of the question, "I'm from Missouri?"

She looked from the mirror again, "Fun."

Tara headed over to the closet and opened it up. She frowned when she saw the size of it.

"This is not going to fit all my clothes."

Oh okay. I'll get on that right away. Wait, what about my clothes? Right, that's not going to matter to her.

"Sorry?"

She shot me a dirty look. What the hell had I done to deserve that? I wanted to call David back immediately so I could at least talk with someone who didn't hate me.

"You're going to have to use the dresser that I don't need."

"So I get whatever room is left over?"

She nodded, "Well, yeah."

I frowned, "Thanks."

She turned her head back around, "Stop being so spoiled."

I was honestly disgusted. She shut the closet door.

"I'll be back later."

I sighed. She was gone for now. Tara grabbed her purse, slammed the door, and left the room. I leaned back on my bed. There was no way I could do this. I was in for a rough few months. It was going to be so hard to get through. I felt myself tearing up quickly.

I picked up my phone and dialed David's number. I needed someone to talk to. He picked up right away.

"Hey. Is she gone for now?"

"Yeah. I don't know where she went but I think she should stay there."

"Did you talk to her at all?"

I sighed, "Sadly."

He laughed, "What did she say?"

"Well, I asked her where she was from and she told me New York. So I was just getting one word answers. Then she told me that I was going to have to fit all my stuff in the drawers she didn't use on the dressers and she got everywhere else."

He sighed, "I don't know how to help you out with that."

"I get it," You could definitely hear in my voice that I was trying not to cry, "I just don't know how I'm supposed to deal with this for a few months."

"I know. I feel the same way."

I started to cry. I tried to not make it obvious though, "I can't get over the fact that it's just me. I'm all alone out here."

"So am I. I don't know a single person. But you have to stick this out for me okay?"

I nodded, "I can try. I don't know how that's going to go though."

"Sam, please. Knowing that you are having a hard time is going to make it so much harder for me."

"I just can't do this."

He sighed, "Yes, you can. I know you can."

There was a knock at the door.

"David, I have to go."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too."

I hung up and quickly wiped my eyes. I looked okay, I guess. It wasn't too obvious that I had been crying just before. I opened the door. It wasn't Tara, thank god. It was another girl. She looked a little bit older than me, but not by much.

"Hi! I'm Stephanie and I'm your dorm advisor for the year. I thought I would stop by to introduce myself."

I glanced over her. She had dark brown hair and light blue eyes. She looked really cheery and smiley. I wished I could say the same thing about myself.

"Oh. Hi. I'm Sam."

"Nice to meet you. Your roommate is Tara right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, that's her."

She laughed, "Have fun with that. I had to talk to her dad a few days ago. If she's anything like him, you're in for it."

I laughed, "I think she's a lot like him, if that's what you were getting at."

"Yeah, he's pretty nasty."

I invited her in a little more. I felt weird having a conversation in the hallway.

"I can imagine."

She smiled, "So where are you from?"

"I'm from Missouri."

"Oh. What part? Are you near St. Louis?"

I laughed, "No. I'm near Kansas City. That's on the other side of the state near Kansas."

She nodded, "Sorry. I was never all that great with geography."

I smiled back, "Its okay."

"So how do you like Boston so far?"  
"Well, I love the city. I haven't gotten to see much of it since I got here yet. But there's time to change that."

"It's great. There are so many cool places to see around here. A lot of singles in the area to if you want to look for that."

I laughed, "Not exactly what I'm looking for."

"Oh. I see. You're already with someone?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Does he go here?"

I shook my head, "No. He's at UCLA."

"Oh wow. That's tough. I bet you miss him like crazy."

I nodded again, "Yeah I do. And this is only the first day."

"We have a lot of long distance relationships here. Most of them don't last though. Normally they find someone at the school since they couldn't make things work with the other person."

That's not what I wanted to hear. "I hope that's not the case with me. I don't want to find someone else."

"So this is serious?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It's really serious. I love him like crazy."

She smiled, "Aw. You really want to make this work don't you?"

"More than anything. He's all I have."

"What do you mean?"

"My dad died a few years ago and my mom walked out on me and him. I don't talk with anyone in my family. They pretty much don't know I'm alive. My mom never wanted kids. It's not a good situation. Then my old friends from back home aren't good friends at all. So yeah, he's all I've got. Him and his family."

She looked sad, "I'm so sorry honey."

I shook my head, "No. Don't worry about it. I'm fine with it."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It's totally cool."

She stood up, "I have to go to other rooms and introduce myself. But if you have any problems, let me know. I think you know what I mean by that."

I smiled, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

She left the room. I was alone again. I felt the same emptiness fill me up that I had before I met David. It was all the same. I was absent again. The rest of the day dragged on. Tara came back and was bitchy as ever. I left to go have dinner a few hours later. The first night would hopefully be the roughest and as time went on things would get easier. I didn't want to deal with this for too long.


	6. Chapter 6

After a few days, I slowly got better. I was still upset and lonely but better. I had my first class of the semester. I didn't enjoy it. There wasn't much I enjoyed now. I met some people, but none that even gave me a second look. I continued to talk to David daily. Sometimes several times daily. But it depended on schedules.

Days turned into weeks. Nothing had changed. There were still a lot of tears and I still felt empty. I had become a different person. It was weird to look at myself. I wasn't happy and I was almost like a zombie. I looked pretty terrible. I hadn't shown any other emotions besides anger and sadness. I couldn't remember when the last time I smiled was. It had to have been a long time.

Despite all the phone conversations with David, I still wasn't satisfied. I felt like someone who needed to quit smoking. They had to wean off the nicotine like I had to wean off of David. I had to grow immune to pain. I had tried that before he left. It didn't work at all. It made no difference. I was a huge mess. Nothing I could have tried would change that.

I had a hard time dealing with Tara. She just got worse each day. I just started ignoring her. Sometimes it was very hard. I was slowly adjusting. I wasn't happier, but I was used to it.

I had a lot of homework that I had to get done. My laptop was getting more use than it ever had. I took a break for a second to check the clock. I had to work around the time difference between Boston and LA. It wasn't easy sometimes.

I picked up the phone and dialed David's number. He picked up almost right away.

"Hello?"

Just hearing his voice made me light up, "Hey!"

His voice picked up more when he heard me, "Hey baby! How are you?"

I sighed, "Busy."

He laughed, "Me too. I'm crazy busy. I actually have to try here."

I smiled, "Well it's about time you realized that school isn't easy sometimes."

"I know. It's hitting me rough."

"But you're okay though right?"

He hesitated, "Yeah."

"Good."

"It's just strange without you."

I had to agree, "I know. I know. It's not the same."

He sighed, "Have you started counting down the days yet?"

I laughed, "No. There's still too many."

"There is. I have to finish some stuff up, but I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

I hung up. Tara looked over at me in disgust.

"Do you seriously have to talk to him all the time?"

I nodded, "Umm yes."

She crossed her arms, "There are other people in the room you know."

I was going to try not to blow up at her. "You talk on the phone too."

"Not all the time. You never stop talking to your stupid boyfriend. Honestly, if he really loved you, he wouldn't have left you."

I shook my head, "It wasn't his choice!"

"I don't need to know his life story. I don't care. But have you looked at the size of this campus? There are plenty of places to talk to someone and you insist on doing it in my room."

I crossed my arms, "I live here too. I have just as much a right to do all the things you do."

"But I don't interrupt and disrespect people while they are trying to relax."

"And neither do I."

She stood up off the bed, "Yes you do. I don't need to hear you talking to whatever his name is non-stop. I mean, don't you have anyone else to talk to?"

I shook my head, "You seriously have this big a problem with me talking to my boyfriend?"

She nodded. She talked to hers for a long time too. And she was much more annoying when she talked to him than I was when I was talking to David.

"Well get used to it because it's not stopping."

She smirked. Uh oh. She had come up with something.

"Well fine then."

I was afraid of what this would mean. I headed out for another class. I took any opportunity to get out of the dorm room. An hour or so later, I came back to the room. I opened the door in hesitation. Tara was on the phone. I didn't want to hear any of the crap about David and I on the phone now.

She smirked when she saw me enter the room. She moved her phone closer to her face.

"Yeah. I'm alone. We can do whatever we want now."

She was not alone. Bitch.

She started to make noises into the phone. It took me a minute or two to figure out what the hell she was doing. Once I realized, I grabbed my phone and headed into the bathroom. I dialed David's number. He picked up almost immediately.

"Oh my god. David save me."

He laughed, "What is it this time?"

"Tara."

"What about her?"

"She's having phone sex with her boyfriend right now."

"Phone sex huh?"

I nodded, "Yes! She's making all these noises into the phone. David, this is disgusting!"

"I believe you. That's not exactly something you want to hear."

"I know!"

I ducked underneath the bathroom counter. I figured I would be safe there.

"Are you sure that's what she's doing?"

I pressed my ear up against the door, "Yup. I'm sure. Please save me!"

"I would if I could."

"I'm begging you!"

He sighed, "Is she still going at it?"

I listened again, "Sounds like it."

"Well, think about it this way…at least she isn't actually with him like…doing it."

I sighed, "You have a point."

"Right? That would be an interesting sight. I wouldn't want to walk in on that."

"I would probably loose my lunch or something."

He laughed, "Thanks for sharing."

"No problem. I have to go. I'll call you later."

"Alright. Love you."

I hung up. I headed back out of the room. Tara was still on the phone. I shook my head and put in my iPod. Maybe I could attempt to block out the noise with that. I completed some homework I had to get done. Once I was done, I was finished with classes and homework for the week. I guess this was my chance to get out and enjoy myself a little bit. As long as I was distracted, I would be fine.

Tara left to god knows where a little later. Maybe some strip club. She would fit in nicely there. I was really enjoying the quiet. My phone started to ring. I checked to see who it was. It was David's mom. I was really glad she took the time out to call me.

"Hey!"

I had missed her optimistic and cheery voice, "Sam, I'm so glad you picked up! I've missed you honey! How are you?"

I sighed, "I'm alright. Things are a little tougher now."

"Aw. I know what you mean."

I didn't want to go on about this since all my issues revolved around her son. That might be a little strange.

"There's not much else for me to do."

"You haven't met anyone? Or made new friends?"

"No. I just haven't had well…the motivation."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed again, "I'm just lonely. It's different out here. It's quiet."

She laughed, "It's been lonely and quiet here too. There's no one for me to tell to stop talking now."

That made me smile, "I can only imagine."

"So I take it you and David have been talking?"

"Yeah. Everyday."

"Well, do I feel replaced? That's more than I talk to him."

I laughed, "Sorry. I'll tell him to call you more."

"No don't worry about it. I talk to him enough."

"Okay good. I wouldn't want him totally snubbing you."

She laughed, "No. It's fine. Since you've spoke to him more recently, how has he been?"

The way she said that made it sound like he hadn't been okay.

"He's been okay. I've never heard anything different."

She sighed, "Oh."

"Why?"

"Well, the last time I talked to him, he had a meltdown."

Seriously? He always seemed like he was content and happy when I talked to him.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. He couldn't stop crying and going on about how he needed to come home. He's so overwhelmed."

I felt awful. I was a little confused too. He had sounded totally fine when I talked to him.

"He's never said anything that might set me off to that."

She sighed, "He's a mess. I feel really bad for him."

I was ready to get on the first flight out to California. I couldn't take knowing he wasn't handling this well.

"I don't know what to say about that. I mean, I guess that I could say the same."

"Aw. I'm sorry. I don't know how this happened. I thought you guys had it all planned out to be near each other."

"We did. But something went very wrong on David's end."

"I know. You should know though, the whole conversation I had with him, he just kept saying that he needed you."

"I can say the same for me. I just don't get why he was lying to me the whole time."

"Sweetie, I don't think you could call that lying. I think he was just trying to be brave for you."

"I thought he was replacing me. It seemed like he didn't care I was gone."

"Sam, that is the farthest thing from the truth."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I don't know what to do. I hate being so far away from him. That was one of my biggest fears. Like something happening to him and me not being able to do anything about it."

"Honey, he's fine. Nothing is going to happen to him. I promise."

I wanted to believe her. But she didn't know that for a fact.

"Okay. I just get nervous sometimes."

She laughed, "Me too. You have nothing to worry about."

She was right. I just got myself so upset over something small.

"Thanks."

"Anytime. I have to go finish dinner but you can call me anytime you want."

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later."

I hung up. I couldn't decide how I felt about knowing how David was handling this. I didn't want to hear that he was having such a hard time. But then again, knowing he wasn't trying to get away from me. I would probably spill and ask him about it the next time we talked.

Tara still wasn't back by the time I feel asleep. I would probably yell at her for walking in at some obscure hour of the night. By the time she got back home it was around three in the morning. I was so exhausted that I let it go.

When she finally got home, she remained up for a while. I had no idea what she was doing. I didn't want to know. She repulsed me quite a bit. In high school, I was pretty bad. But I was never like her. I don't think I could ever be that mean and self centered.

I woke up the next morning around the same time I normally would. I was done with classes for the week. I also had all my work finished. I had plenty of time to do whatever I wanted to do. But I didn't really want to.

I checked the time on my phone. It was around eight. There was nothing fun I could do. It was around five in California. I doubted David would be up until ten. That left five boring hours to do nothing.

I felt like one of those druggies in high school that just don't do anything. Minus the drugs of course. That wasn't my thing. I'm sure I could find someone around here to compare myself to if I wanted.

Tara slept really late. I wasn't surprised since she was up almost all night. I could hear her texting and typing until four in the morning. I was able to get in some quiet time. Once she got up, it would be impossible to get any relaxation.

I waited until twelve to talk to David. Since Tara was still sleeping, I would be considerate and text him instead.

'Hey! You awake yet?'

I waited for a response. My phone buzzed a minute later.

'Yeah. I got up a while ago actually. How's it going?'

Everything I wanted to pour out wouldn't fit in a text message.

'Fine. You?'

I knew he would say he was fine back, but I didn't believe him now.

'I could be better.'

Oh wow. He wasn't lying to me this time. He was actually being honest about this.

'Aw. Why?'

Tara rolled over in her bed. Please no. Stay asleep! She didn't move after that.

'I'm sick. I think I got food poisoning from something.'

Crap. This is what I was afraid of. There was nothing for me to do.

'I'm sorry. Are you okay?'

He was kind of texting me back slowly.

'Not really. I've been throwing up all morning.'

That might explain the slow texting.

'Do you have any idea what made you sick?'

I waited another few minutes for him to respond.

'Well, something I ate. Don't worry about it though.'

'Is there anything I can do?'

I felt really stupid asking that. It didn't cross my mind.

'I'm three thousand miles away. How do you plan on doing anything? Lol'

I smiled at that.

'I don't know. I have money and I could hop on a flight out there.'

If that's what it came to I would easily do it. Like if something happened to him, I would be out there as fast as I possibly could. There was no way I would leave him by himself.

'Please don't. I'm totally fine.'

I sighed and responded, 'You sure?'

'Very sure. I'll text you later on. Love you.'

I quickly texted my last message back, 'Love you too. Feel better.'

I dropped my phone on the bed and leaned my head back. Tara opened her eyes and stretched. Wonderful.


	7. Chapter 7

After the week I had, talking to David for five minutes at the most was the only thing really keeping me sane. I was so tired of all the crap I was dealing with and he made a nice break for me. He was really good about calling each day. If not by talking he would send me an email or a message on Facebook just to let me know he was thinking about me.

It scared me a lot to think about how he might find someone prettier than me and leave me for her. I knew that would never happen but I couldn't help but think it when he was so far away. I remembered what he told me when before he left about how I didn't need to worry about that.

It was tedious trying to work around time differences. Calling him in the morning wasn't an option because it was still the middle of the night by him. I checked the current time. It was right around 10:30. That would make it only 7:30 by him. Now would be an easy time to call.

I picked my cell phone off the bed and dialed his number. It was the only one I knew by heart. Just as I was about to press the call button, my phone rang. He beat me to it again. I smiled and picked up the phone.

"Hey! You beat me to the call again."

"Oh really? Weird. Anyways, how are you?"

I shrugged, "Fine I guess. You?"

"I'm okay. Nothing new going on. It's pretty boring."

I sighed, "I get it. There's nothing exciting going on here either."

"How's your roommate?"

I rolled my eyes. She wasn't here right now. I don't know where she was, I could care less though. She really didn't need to come back.

"Well…"

He laughed, "Okay then. Anything new for her?"

"No. Just being nasty to me all the time."

"I'm sorry. I would tell her off for you but a guy against a girl might be a little strange."

I laughed, "Yeah it would. Plus, you don't yell or argue with anyone. I've heard you maybe once."

"I know. I'm not good at it. I'm not the most intimidating person out there."

He was right. Even if I didn't know him and was trapped in a dark alley with him, I wouldn't be scared. He really wasn't intimidating at all.

"No you're not. You're pretty strong though."

"I guess. Like I said, I don't work out. I may have to start though. Work and stress do a number on you."

I nodded in agreement, "Yes it does. Why? Are you loosing you six pack?"

He laughed again, "If that's what you could call it to begin with. I think I'm going to try and find the gym tomorrow and see if I can get some use out of it."

"Yeah, that was a six pack. Have fun doing that."

"Oh trust me I will. I need to figure out how to work some of the equipment. I'm not too familiar with it."

"I've noticed."

"Thanks for rubbing that in."

I laughed, "You're welcome," I sighed, "I miss you. Like, a lot."

He sighed, "I know exactly how you feel. This isn't easy."

I hated when good conversations turned into bad ones about how much this sucked.

"I wish there was a way around this."

"I know. I…I've been thinking about that."

I felt a chill run up my spine. That happened every time I sensed something bad happening.

"About what?"

"Well, a way around this."

I felt tears building, "And what is that?"

He paused, "Maybe…maybe you should start to see other people."

I didn't understand what he meant by that. I was starting to panic.

"Wait? What?! So are you saying you want to end this?"

He gasped, "No! That's the last thing I would ever want!"

I let out a sigh of relief, "So then what does this mean?"

"It means that there are other guys in the world and it's not just me. Since I'm so far away and can't be there for you right now, maybe you should start to hang out with someone else."

I was so beyond confused, "What? Isn't that cheating on you?"

"Not technically. I mean, I'm giving you permission."

"That's weird. So if some guy wants to hang out with me and asks if I'm single what do I say? No I'm not but I'll still date you anyways."

He laughed, "I guess if that works. You could be honest and tell them what's really going on. Or you could lie and pretend I don't exist."

I didn't like the idea of the second one. I guess I would have to be honest with anyone. That is if I found someone. Who knows how that could go?

"I guess I could just tell the truth. I just really don't want to have to do this. It's like we're broken up."

"Maybe. But even if you feel that way, remember that I love you and I am one hundred percent devoted to you until the day I die. If you ever need anything, I'm here. I mean, I'm still your boyfriend. But if you find someone to occupy your time while I'm away, go ahead. I just want what might be best for you."

He may have been looking out for me, but I wasn't sure what the best option was.

"Thanks. You can say the same for me I guess. I'll have to see what happens."

"Okay. I'm not asking you to find someone else. If it comes along, don't turn it down because of me."

"Yeah. I love you."

"I love you too."

I checked the time on the clock. It was almost midnight, "I'm going to bed."

"Okay. Night. I love you."

I smiled, "Love you too."

I clicked the phone off. I rested it on the nightstand and pulled the covers over me. I thought about all the things I had just discussed. Maybe David was right. He was most of the time. Maybe if I did find someone new, I would be happier. I fell asleep with a lot on my mind that night. I wasn't sure what to think.

The next morning I woke up around my normal time. Tara was out cold. God knows what time she came home at. She might have been drunk. I wasn't the one to find out. I could care less. I got ready quietly to show the consideration she never did. I headed down the street to the library where I could get some work done in peace.

I headed to one of the back tables to get started on my work. I had some research to do for a report. I was good at doing those. I was a decent writer. It came easily for me. I got out of my chair and headed to one of the shelves as I looked through the titles to find what I was looking for. I wasn't paying attention at all to the other people around me. I was stopped by another person in my way. I looked up.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I should be paying more attention."

It was a guy. A very cute one too. I glanced over his nearly bleach blonde hair, glowing blue eyes, and charming smile. I tried to clear David out of my mind for the moment so I wouldn't make comparisons right away.

"No. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

I smiled back, "Okay good. That was stupid."

"No its not. Relax. I'm James by the way."

"Sam. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah you too."

I analyzed his wavy blonde hair carefully draped in front of his face and the alluring smile that had me somehow hooked. He was so completely different from David. David had very dark brown hair, James was bleach blonde. James was totally clean shaven in comparison to David's adorable scruffiness. He looked more on the pretty boy side than the athletic rocker I was used to having.

"So you go to Boston?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Freshmen. You?"

He nodded in response, "Yeah. It's my first year here."

Someone my age who seemed normal. Maybe David was right. I should have more trust in someone I would trust with my life. He knew more about relationships than I clearly did.

"Where are you from originally?"

"New York. Like upstate New York."

I nodded, "That's cool. I went to Buffalo when I was younger with my parents. Are you close to there?"

He smiled, "Yeah. Not too far. It's nice up there. Where abouts are you from?"

"Missouri. I know it's not that thrilling."

"No that's neat. It's probably very calm and relaxed there."

"Yeah. It is. I love it there."

He smiled again, "Its home. Everyone loves home."

"Of course. So how do you like the school so far?"

My desperate attempts to make conversation seemed to be amusing him. "I like it. It's very nice out here."

"Yeah. It's a gorgeous city."

I was out of ideas to talk about. It wasn't like when I was with David where I could discuss anything and everything with him. He always had something to say.

"So I guess me being in your way makes me obligated to take you out."

I smiled, "Well I bumped into you."

"But it was my fault. I could have moved for you. Therefore, I need to make it up to you."

"Fine. I'm okay with that."

I skipped my homework that day. I could do it some other time. I was making progress in becoming a human again. James took me out to lunch and we talked for a long time. It felt a little weird being on an almost date with someone new. I wasn't sure how crazy I was about it. We walked back to my dorm. He didn't come in but we hung out in the courtyard for a while.

He sighed, "Now I have to ask. Are you single?"

Crap. This was the thing I had been debating telling someone. I didn't really want to mess up my chances with James. I wasn't totally interested in dating him. But if that was what he wanted and he knew I was with David, he might not even be interested in being friends.

"I'm actually not. It's kind of a long complicated thing though."

He smiled, "Oh. How is it complicated?"

I sighed, "Well, he's in California. He got accepted at UCLA. But we recently talked and he thought I should see some other people if that's what makes me feel better. I might not have been as open to hanging out with you if it weren't for that."

He nodded, "So he left you?"

That was a blunt way to put it, "No. He didn't want to."

"But he still did."

This was sounding so harsh, "Well yeah. I guess."

"How could he do that?"

"It wasn't his choice."

"Okay. Are you mad at him?"

I shook my head, "Not at all. I could never be mad at him."

James looked disappointed, "There's always a way to be mad at someone."

That was a negative way to look at it, "Not him. I just can't."

"I don't think so."

I was getting uncomfortable, "Maybe it just has yet to happen."

"Yeah," He looked down at his phone, "I have to get going. What's your number?"

I listed off my cell phone number for him. He ran over his and I added it to my phone. I headed back into the dorm room.

The second I got in there, I noticed it seemed empty. All of Tara's stuff was gone. Where did she go?! I wasn't complaining at all.

I dropped my bags on my bed and ran to the hall. Stephanie was coming down my way.

"Umm…Stephanie? Quick question…where is Tara? Her stuff is like, gone."

She laughed, "She left. Well no, she got expelled actually."

I leaned against the door frame, "Wait. Seriously? Like she's never coming back?"

She smiled, "Yes. You happy?"

A huge smile spread across my face, "Yes! What did she get expelled for?"

"Somehow, the dean ended up with racy pictures from her on his phone."

"She sent out naked pictures to him?"

Stephanie nodded, "Apparently."

"Wow. So I have the dorm to myself?"

She shook her head, "No. You'll have a new roomie soon. I talked to her earlier."

I got tense thinking about another insane roommate, "Is she normal?"

"Oh yeah. She's very sweet. Very bubbly and talkative."

I sighed. That was what I needed to make this a little easier.

"Thank god."

She smiled again, "You two should get along great."

I hoped so. "That would be great. I need it."

"Yeah. I'll see you later on. I have some dorms to check. Some kids just can't stay out of trouble."

I laughed, "Okay. Have fun!"

I walked back to the bed and collapsed in joy. No more Tara. I could do whatever I wanted for a few hours. I couldn't wipe my smile off my face. I picked up my phone to call David to share my wonderful news. It went straight to voicemail. That was weird. His phone was always on. I shrugged it off for now.

My phone started ringing. I looked over at the caller ID hoping maybe David accidentally turned his phone off and realized he missed my call. It wasn't. It was Bobby. I felt so bad. I hadn't talked to him in forever. The poor guy probably thought I forgot about him. That would be hard. He was so memorable.

"Bobby!"

He sounded so happy I picked up, "Sam! I've missed you so much."

"Aw. I miss you too. It's not too entertaining without you and your antics."

He laughed, "I know. How's Boston?"

"It's nice. I miss home though."

Bobby and Jeff both got accepted into UCM. They weren't too far from home unlike David and I.

"So do I. I mean, I have to clean my own dorm. Jeff doesn't do it for me."

I laughed, "It's his responsibility to clean?"

"Well, yeah!"

"Poor Jeff. He had to get stuck with you as a roommate."

He sighed, "I know. He loves it though. And now he's rolling his eyes at me."

I smiled, "I miss you guys so much. I wish I was back home."

"We miss you too. We need Dave to get back out here before we start casting for a new lead singer."

I laughed, "Oh that's cold. You couldn't do that to him. Axium wouldn't be the same."

"I know. We aren't planning that."

"So how are college girls?"

He paused, "Wow. Um…It's an amazing experience."

I laughed again, "You guys don't have David to hold you back from flirting it up."

"I know! I mean, we could get in so much trouble, and he would never know."

"No he wouldn't. I gotta go. I'll talk to you really soon."

"Bye."

I hung up. Things were really starting to look up. I thought they never would. It was like a complete flip from what it was. I enjoyed the rest of my afternoon in peace. I was anxious to meet whoever my new roommate was. Stephanie said we would get along well. I hoped to God she was right.

I headed downstairs to go eat dinner. I came back up and started to work on homework. I got it all done in a good amount of time. I had become a very diligent worker. There was a knock at the door. I felt my heart race quickly. I crossed my fingers that they gave me someone normal.

I got off the bed and went to the door. I opened it slowly. A girl with wavy light brown hair was standing there with her suitcase.

"Is this dorm 421?"

I smiled and nodded, "Yeah it is. You must be my new roommate."

She nodded, "I guess so. I'm Anna. Nice to meet you."

I looked over Anna's features. She had light skin with really pretty blue eyes. She was tiny. She couldn't have been any taller than me.

"I'm Sam. Nice to meet you too," I glanced down at her suitcase, "Oh here. Let me help you with that."

I grabbed it and brought it into the room. I set it against the opposite bed. She followed and shut the door behind her.

"Thanks. I'm not even going to bother unpacking tonight."

I laughed, "Good move. I hate doing that."

"I know. It's so tiring."

She seemed normal. She wasn't insane like Tara. I could get used to this.

"So are you new here or just switching dorms?"

"Just switching. My old roommate transferred and they moved me here. What happened to your old one?"

"She got expelled."

Anna gasped, "How?!"

I was going to attempt to say this without laughing. It was just so typical and expected I couldn't help it.

"She sent racy pictures to the dean."

"Are you serious?"

I nodded, "I'm not kidding."

"Wow. I'm sorry you had to live with that. I had some emo girl and she scared me. I feared for my life every night. She wanted to pierce my tongue. It was so weird."

"I see where you're coming from."

She laughed, "Yeah. It was awful. Anyways, where abouts are you from?"

"I'm from the Kansas City area."

She gasped again, "Get out."

"No. I am."

"That's weird. I live like fifteen minutes from there."

"Oh wow. That's really bazaar. But totally cool at the same time."

"I know. So what was your old roommate like? I can sort of get the picture from what you told me about how she got expelled."

I shook my head, "She was the biggest bitch you will ever meet. She had problems with everything I did. I mean, I would sneeze and it would be an invasion of her privacy. I couldn't even talk on the phone with my boyfriend without it being an issue."

"That sucks. Why would either of those be a problem?"

"I have no idea."

"I don't care. You can talk to whoever you want or sneeze if you need to. As long as it's not in my face."

I laughed, "Don't worry about it. I can keep myself away from you if I have to sneeze."

"Good. That's gross."

I smiled at the thought of finally having a good girl friend. I could finally talk to someone about things that girls would talk about. I was sure David didn't need to hear about girlie topics. He would listen anyways.

"Yeah just a little."

"So you said you had a boyfriend right?"

I blushed, "Yeah. I do."

"Aw. That's great. Is it like, serious or just someone you're seeing?"

I looked down and smiled, "It's really serious."

She smiled, "Cute! Does he go here?"

I dropped my smile, "No. He's at UCLA."

She sounded sympathetic, "Oh wow. I'm sorry. But you guys are still together?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I wouldn't leave him for anything."

"That's so sweet."

"Thanks."

"What's his name?"

Just the thought of him or the mention of his name made me smile, "David."

"Is he hot? Sorry if that sounded superficial. I was just wondering."

I laughed, "No don't worry about it. Its totally human nature. I happen to think he's gorgeous."

I thought of his eyes, and smile, and hair. Then his voice and how it always made me feel so calm and happy. Then his arms that felt like they were made to hold me and only me. I thought about the way everything felt when he intertwined his fingers with mine and pulling me close to him. I was about to get carried away.

"I'm sure he is. What does he look like?"

I sighed, "I don't know. I can't describe it," I picked up my laptop from the foot of the bed and opened it up to my home screen. I looked over the picture I had set as my wallpaper. It was taken on our trip to the beach after graduation. It was one of my favorites of him. He just looked so happy. I looked super happy too. Just that alone made it stand out to me.

I turned the computer to show Anna. She looked over the picture and smiled.

"He is gorgeous. Wow. You're lucky."

I nodded, "I am beyond lucky to be with him. I can't even tell you how much he means to me."

"Aw. He sounds really sweet."

I blushed and nodded, "Yeah he is. I can't really put it into words how amazing he is. He's everything."

"That's great."

"I know. Even after all I put him through; he doesn't want to leave me."

"Like what?"

I thought back to a year or so ago, "Well, when I first met him, I was seeing someone else who I wasn't happy with at all. So I dumped my old boyfriend and started dating David. But my old boyfriend got really angry and jealous, so he insisted on trying to hurt David. He wasn't hurt too badly, but it could have been serious."

"Oh my god. Was it at least a fair fight?"

I shook my head, "No. It was a six foot four, almost two hundred pound quarterback against a just barely six foot, maybe one sixty, baseball pitcher."

She cringed, "Wow. That had to be scary for you."

I nodded, "Yeah I panicked a little bit when he was unconscious. But he's totally fine."

"Good. How long have you guys been together?"

"Almost a year. Our anniversary is coming up soon."

November 18th. The night of our first official date. It had to be one of the best nights of my life. I had never felt so much for another person in my life.

"Wow. That's really impressive. Most couples don't make it a month none the less a year."

I laughed, "Yeah. This is different."

"That's so sweet."

I nodded, "I'm sorry. If you want me to shut up, I can. I just get carried away when I talk about him."

She smiled, "No! Not at all. I don't care. I just really like talking."

"Cool. Me too."

"So tell me more? I'm really interested."

I smiled back, "Well, he's in a band with his two best friends. He sings and plays guitar. He can write incredible music. He's really tight with his family and…and I don't know. I just could go on and on."

"I can tell."

Her phone rang. She looked over and picked it up.

"Hi dad."

I couldn't help but feel jealous of anyone who still had theirs. I wished my dad was still around. It would make a lot of things so much easier.

"Yeah. I got here alright. I'm talking with my new roommate…yeah she's really cool…alright. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning."

She hung up, "My dad. He wanted to make sure I got here okay."

I smiled, "That's sweet. David called me when I got here to make sure I was okay. I wasn't because of my evil dorm companion."

She laughed, "Evil dorm companion is a good way to put it. What about your parents? Do you keep in touch with them like you do with David?"

I groaned with a laugh, "No. Not even close."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. I hated explaining, "Well, my dad died when I was eleven. My mom and I do not get along. I haven't talked to her in at least two years. She basically walked out on me. I live alone. My only family is David's. His mom and dad treat me like their daughter. His little brother Andrew is basically family too. His older brother Adam and his daughter treat me really well too. His aunt and uncle are like second parents to both of us."

She looked down, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"No it's fine. Things worked out for the better. I mean, I miss my dad a lot but I love David's whole family. I'm fine. Just as long as I don't have to make contact with my mom."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay with it. For me, the hardest part is being away from David. Everything else is fine."

It really wasn't. I missed my dad like crazy. I wanted to have a good relationship with my mom, but she never wanted me. It hurt so bad thinking that I wasn't good enough. That's why I felt so shocked that David loved me because I couldn't believe I was actually good enough for someone. I didn't have to change anything to be with him.

"Oh. I really am sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'm alright."

"I sort of understand. My mom died when I was little too. I never really knew her all that well."

That didn't help how I felt. "I'm sorry. I guess we're kind of on the same page."

She nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay though. I had a normal upbringing. Two older brothers set you pretty straight."

I laughed, "Nice. How old are they?"

"One is twenty four and the other is just two years older than me."

"Oh wow. I don't have any siblings. I wish I did though. Andrew is kind of like a little brother. He's only fourteen though. David sets him pretty straight. That poor kid can't do anything without his brother knowing."

She laughed, "I totally understand. Mine were the same way."

"Yeah. David's really protective of everyone important to him. I mean, he's been through a lot. It's no surprise he doesn't want to see anyone suffering."

"What do you mean?"

I cringed. I didn't want to spill David's darkest secret to just anyone. It wasn't important to tell Anna right now since she had never met him.

"It's complicated. The past two and a half years were rough on him. The past year was a lot better though."

She nodded seeing I wasn't going to say any more at the moment, "Oh I see."

"Yeah. He doesn't talk about it."

She nodded again, "Okay."

I changed the topic and we continued talking for hours more. I was so happy to finally have a friend. Anna and I had so much in common. I loved it. Having a good friend would make this so much easier. It was the hugest relief.

We didn't get to bed until really late because we couldn't stop talking or laughing. And I was completely okay with that.


	8. Chapter 8

A few more weeks passed. Anna and I became amazingly close. Like I had known her for years. She was easily my best friend. She listened every time I wanted to rant about something. I was just glad that Tara was gone. We never really got to know each other. I was sort of glad that was the case. I wouldn't want to associate myself with people like that.

It was early November. I had started counting the days until winter break and I got to go home. I couldn't wait any longer. Even though things had improved, it was still difficult to deal with being on my own for the first time in a long time. It really had been only a year since being alone all the time. I had just gotten so dependant on David always being there that this was a huge adjustment.

I had hung out with James a few times but we were nothing more than friends. I couldn't see anything beyond that. He just wasn't my type. I had tried to give him a chance but I doubted it would ever work out. He continued to show interest in me when I didn't show any back.

My phone went off in the other room, "Anna, who is it?"

She looked over at the screen and squealed, "David! Can I pick it up?"

I laughed, "Sure."

She grabbed the phone and answered, "Hello?"

I was really curious to see how this would go.

"No. This is Anna. Sam's roommate."

He knew who she was. She gasped.

"You know who I am?"

I looked over at her. She was beaming.

"Anna, I talk to him everyday. He knows who you are."

She put the phone to her shoulder, "This is so cool!"

She talked into the phone, "So I guess you want to talk to Sam?...Okay. Here she is."

She walked over and handed the phone to me. I smiled and took it from her.

"Hey!"

David laughed, "She's funny. Why did she get so excited talking to me?"

"She thinks you're cute."

"Are you sure she doesn't think I'm someone else?"

I shook my head, "No. Stop talking like that. You're adorable."

"Sure. So how are you?"

"Good. You?"

He sighed, "Tired. Really tired."

"Then get some sleep."

"I wish I could. I normally never have trouble sleeping but it's been really different recently."

That's something I never thought I would hear him say, "Why?"

"I'm always worrying about you."

"Aw. I worry about you too. I'm okay though. There's nothing to worry about. I know how you feel."

"I know you're fine. I just get really nervous sometimes because I'm so far away."

"I know. Me too. Don't worry. Besides that, how are you doing?"

"Alright. I guess."

"Have you met anyone out there?"

He hesitated, "Well yeah. No one that I'm close with though. I don't have anyone like you have Anna."

I felt really bad for him, "Why don't you try and make some friends? I mean, you're talkative and easy to get along with."

"It's easier said than done."

"Why is that?"

He sighed, "I don't know. It's just weird out here. It's a lot of rich athletes. A lot of them don't like me because I'm smart. They think I know everything."

I laughed, "It's not a bad thing to be smart."

"I know. It's not. But I don't know. It's just weird out here. I like California but I don't like the school."

"I see. It's only a few more weeks."

"Yeah."

"Well I'll talk to you a little later. You can call me anytime you want if you need to talk about anything. I'll always pick up."

"Thanks. I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up. Anna looked over at me.

"Is everything okay?"

I shrugged, "I guess so. This is still rough on both of us."

"I can imagine. You should take a week off and go visit him out there."

I smiled, "I wish it was that easy."

Anna and I decided to go shopping later that morning. We headed to the mall and got went into a few stores. Completely coincidental we ended up bumping into James.

"Sam!"

I turned around and smiled, "Hey. How are you?"

"Fine. You?"

"Same. Oh James this is my roommate, Anna. I don't think you guys have met before."

Anna stepped forwards, "Nice to meet you."

She had heard about him from what I told her. James nodded.

"Nice to meet you too. So since you're here, it saves me a phone call. Do you want to hang out tonight?"

I didn't have anything else planned. I guess there was no harm in doing that.

"Sure. I guess so. I'm free."

He smiled, "Cool. How does my dorm at seven sound?"

"Fine. I'll see you then."

James turned the corner and left. That was awkward. I don't know why. I clearly couldn't be dating someone who made me feel that way. I turned back to Anna.

"So that was the one you were hanging out with?"

I nodded, "Yeah. That's him."

She glanced at him one more time before he disappeared out of sight, "I like David better. He seems less creepy and hostile."

She had talked on the phone once with David and texted him a few times while I couldn't get to my phone. I told her what to say.

"Hostile?"

"Yeah. He seems very controlling. He looks at you weird. It's almost like he's a creepy lover."

I laughed, "What?"

"I don't know how to explain it. It just looks like he's so desperate to get you."

I nodded, "I can see that."

She crossed her arms, "I'm not crazy about him. Sorry. He just seems like bad news to me."

I had to agree, "Neither am I. He does seem suspicious. He was really laid back until he knew I had a boyfriend."

She shook her head, "He's not jealous is he?"

"I have no idea. He might be. I've seen jealousy before. I've seen it taken out on innocent people."

I thought of when Jeremy had ambitions to kill David. That was the worst I had seen jealousy get. No one should have to get hurt.

"Jeremy?"

I nodded, "Precisely. I haven't talked to him in forever."

"You shouldn't. He tried to hurt someone you loved."

"Yeah. That's when I cut ties. No one messes with him."

"I want to meet him!"

I smiled, "You will trust me. You don't live too far from us. Hanging out over break could be doable."

"Yay! I bet he's cuter in person."

I laughed again, "Yeah. He is."

"This is exciting."

I shook my head, "Yes it is."

She was so amusing sometimes, "So you're going to hang out with him?"

I nodded, "I don't see why not. I mean, he's a nice guy. I could use some friends too. It's always good to have guy friends."

"Not when he's in love with you."

"Well, David is in love with me and he's like my best friend."

She sighed, "That's totally different though. You love him back. I don't see that with James. I mean, when you talk about David, or just talk on the phone with him, you light up. You don't do that around James."

She had a point, "I know. I can still be friends with him though."

"You can. Just be careful. I wouldn't want things with you and David getting screwed up because James thinks you like him back. Don't send him the wrong message."

She was right again. For someone who was constantly joking around and being a dork, Anna made good arguments. She should work on becoming a lawyer.

"That would not be good. Now you've got me all freaked out for tonight."

She laughed, "Don't freak out. It's going to be fine. It's not really a date. You're just hanging out."

I nodded, "Okay I can do that. And it's not cheating is it?"

"No. You're allowed to have friends that are guys. I don't think David would care. He's laid back about that stuff."

"I know he is. I just don't want things to be weird."

"Don't worry. It's fine."

I took Anna's words of encouragement and let them settle in my head for the rest of the day. I headed over around seven like James suggested. I knocked on the door. He opened.

"Hey!"

I looked over him. He actually looked really hot. His blonde hair fell onto the sides of his face and made his blue eyes shine. He had on a white button down shirt and light jeans. The shirt was slightly unbuttoned. I didn't normally think that way about other guys. He looked good though.

"Hey! You look great."

He smiled, "Thanks. So do you."

One of the main differences between James and David was their difference in modesty. When I told David he looked cute, he would immediately blush or tell me he wasn't. James took it in stride like he knew he deserved it. David was confident in whom he was and never let anyone tell him otherwise, but he was very self conscious about his looks. James clearly wasn't.

James invited me in. I took a seat on his little couch. He had one of the nicer dorms on campus. He was clearly very rich and paid his way into the nice rooms. He took a seat next to me.

"So what did you have planned?"

He smiled, "Anything. I'm just glad to be with you."

I liked it better when David said that. I liked everything better when he said it.

"Oh okay."

"How about a movie?"

Hmm…Movies. David and I watched a movie the first time we slept together. I don't know if doing that with James would lead to the same thing. I refused to believe that would happen. I wouldn't let it. I had to stop making these comparisons and give someone else a chance. Not a chance to be my new boyfriend but a chance to just be friends. I was so quick to compare everyone.

"Sure. That's fine."

James smiled and put in a movie. It was some romantic movie. Why he had it in his room, I don't know. It was decent. David and I always ended up with bad ones. That was our thing. Neither of us ever cared. We just enjoyed the time together. Also because if the movie was really bad, we could just kiss through the whole thing and forget we were watching a movie. I couldn't do that with James.

The movie didn't last long. Just sitting there was awkward. I didn't have anything to make conversation with. We were just two totally different people who would never work out. It was not a comfortable position to be in. James turned the TV off and turned on a light in the corner of the room.

"So what did you think?"

I nodded awkwardly, "It was fine."

"Cool."

There was silence.

"So…"

James turned to me, "Look I've got to let it out now."

Crap, "Okay."

He took my hands. I wasn't happy with this.

"I really care about you. I understand how hard it is to be abandoned by someone you thought loved you. It's tough."

I stopped him, "No. I was never abandoned. David still loves me."

He rested his hand on my shoulder, "I'm just trying to say, I'm here for you."

I took in a deep breath, "Thanks."

He leaned forward near me. I knew what was coming. It was just the decision of whether or not to allow him to kiss me or not. Technically, kissing him was cheating on David. I couldn't do that. I had already dealt with the drama of hurting him that way. Luckily for me, he was able to forgive me.

James moved closer and rested his lips against mine. From the very moment our lips touched, only one face came to mind and it wasn't James. I couldn't think about him. I could only think about David. Instead of a one track mind I had a one boy mind. I only wanted one person.

I couldn't get his face, voice or anything else about him out of my mind. I remembered how much more I wanted him to be the one on the other side of this kiss. But he wasn't. I pulled away quickly. James looked startled.

"What?!"

"James, I'm really sorry. I just can't do this. It's not right."

He frowned, "Why not?!"

I grabbed my purse and stood up, "I just can't."

I rushed out the door and headed home. Tears were on the way. I opened the door and took a seat on the bed. Anna could tell I was upset.

"What's wrong? What happened with James?"

I shook my head and wiped a few tears, "I made a really big mistake."

She came over and put her arms around me, "Aw. What happened?"

"I kissed him."

She gasped, "Why?"

I shook my head, "I don't know. He was the one who brought it on but I went along with it for a few seconds. I really shouldn't have."

She rubbed my back, "Its okay. Everyone makes mistakes."

"I know that. But I could have messed something up with someone I really love because I was stupid and played along with something someone I don't love at all did."

"Don't worry about it."

"What is David going to think?"

She turned to me, "He doesn't have to know."

I nodded, "Yeah he does. I don't keep anything from him."

"You're going to tell him?"

"I guess so. I just really want to talk to him right now."

I picked up my phone and dialed his number. He picked up right away.

"Hey baby! How are you?!"

I sighed, "I could be better."

"Aw. What's wrong?"

I didn't know how to tell him I basically cheated on him.

"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't be mad."

"Okay, I promise. I could never be mad at you."

I took in a deep breath and looked at Anna. She nodded telling me to go ahead.

"I kind of kissed someone else."

I was waiting for him to get mad, "Okay. What's the problem?"

"David, are you being serious? I technically cheated on you."

"No you didn't. I told you to see other people. Who was it?"

I couldn't believe he was okay with it, "One guy I met out here named James."

"Is he a nice guy?"

I shrugged, "Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Yeah. He's nice. He's not you though."

He laughed, "Obviously not."

"Why are you okay with me finding someone else?"

"Because it's distracting you from missing me."

I shook my head, "No. It's not. Every boy I meet gets compared to you. It just makes me miss you more."

"Oh. So you don't think the seeing other people thing is working out?"

"No. I don't. It really isn't. Have you gone out with anyone else?"

"Not one person. I don't want to."

"Then why are we doing this. If neither of us are happy, why do we have to be with someone else?"

He sighed, "I don't know. Do you want to forget that I ever came up with this idea?"

I nodded, "Please. I don't like it. I want to be able to call you my boyfriend again."

"You can call me that anytime you want."

I smiled, "Thanks. I love you."

"I love you too. Our anniversary is coming up you know."

I blushed, "Yeah. One year. I can't believe it."

"Neither can I. It's been amazing."

"I know it has. What do you want?"

He laughed again, "Nothing. I am dead serious when I say that. Don't get me anything. I've got something planned."

"Like what?"

"Can't you just take a surprise?"

I smiled, "No. You know me. I don't take those well."

"I'm not telling. You'll just have to wait and see Saturday."

I started going through things it might be.

"I'm trying to think. What is it? Is it something like my Christmas present?"

"No. Not quite."

"Did you write me another song?"

"No. But I could if you wanted me too."

"That would be nice but will I ever find out what you are getting me?"

He laughed, "Yes! On Saturday. Be patient and you will know. Trust me. I know you'll like it. I've got to go. I have a bunch of stuff to get done. I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up. Anna looked over at me waiting for an answer, "So what did he say?"

"He's not mad."

"I told you. You have to trust me a little bit more."

"I know. It's our anniversary on Saturday."

"I overheard. What do you think it is?"

I honestly had no idea. He was good at keeping secrets. I was not. I spilled everything.

"I don't know. I suggested things but he said I wasn't right."

"What was your Christmas present?"

I looked down at the necklace I still wore every day, "This."

She eyed the diamonds and silver, "Oh my god. That's gorgeous."

I smiled, "I know. I love it."

"He wrote a song for you?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It's amazing. He thinks it's his best work. I agree."

"Can he sing?"

I laughed, "It's more like what can't he sing. He's incredible."

"I didn't know that."

I pulled out my computer and opened up iTunes. I had Axium's CD burned to my computer and on my iPod. I played part of my song. I got chills every time I heard it. Anna smiled.

"That's so beautiful! He's got so much talent. Why isn't he famous yet?"

I shook my head, "I ask him that all the time."

"That's better than half the stuff on the radio."

I nodded, "I agree. I'm not being biased at all."

"No not at all."

"Shut up. You even said it yourself."

She sat back on her bed, "I know I did. I'm just kidding with you."

"I know. I'm tired."

Anna nodded, "I know. I'm exhausted and I didn't even do anything today."

"Neither did I. I guess I'm just lazy."

She leaned back on the pillow, "Me too. I guess. Anyways, good night."

"Good night. See you in the morning."

I hit the lights and went to bed.


	9. Chapter 9

A few days passed and it was finally Saturday. Nothing had come in the mail yet. I was always checking to see if whatever David was sending my way was here yet. I was sure Anna got tired of my constant curiosity. I probably bugged David with it too. I would interrupt normal conversations to get him to slip. He never did.

I got up earlier than normal because the anticipation was killing me. Anna was still asleep. I headed downstairs and grabbed coffee before returning to the room. A few more hours passed and Anna had to leave for a class. Things only got more boring and painstakingly long from there.

Around eleven, my phone rang. I quickly grabbed it and picked up.

"Hey! Happy Anniversary!"

David cut me off before I could say anything else, "Happy Anniversary. Look do you think you could come out of your room for a little while?"

I was totally confused, "Why?"

"Please?"

"Fine. Where do you want me to go?"

"The courtyard in front of your building."

I had told him all about the layout of the campus. He might have had whatever he sent delivered there.

"Okay. I can do that."

I got off the bed, put on my sneakers and headed outside. I made my way into the courtyard. I looked around. I didn't see anything.

"David, what's going on?"

"Now do you see the fountain in the middle?"

I did, "Yeah?"

"Go there."

I did as he said, "Okay. Now what?"

I looked around. There was nothing there that I would have noticed right away. I was really confused. I looked across the fountain. There was nothing. Well, there were people but they were just other students.

There was a pause, "Now turn around."

I could almost hear the words differently than all the other ones over the phone. They sounded real. They sounded clear and close. I took in a deep breath and turned around. I couldn't breathe. David stepped out of one of the little ivy covered cut outs. I was totally dreaming this. He wasn't really here. This wasn't happening.

He smiled, "Surprise."

I ran right to him and wrapped my arms around him. It felt so amazing. I couldn't even describe it. I just wanted to stay like this forever. I could feel tears building. I held him tighter than I ever had before. I had never been so happy to see him in my life. I was seriously convinced I was going to break him. I buried my face into his shoulder and started to cry.

He picked my head up, "Happy Anniversary."

I smiled, "What are you doing here? You flew out just for one day?"

He shook his head, "Nope. I'm here for good."

"What?!"

He wiped my tears, "It's called transferring."

He had switched schools just to be with me? I didn't even know what to say. I just pulled him in again and didn't let go. It felt so warm to be here after being so cold and alone for a long time. I wasn't going to bother listing the things I had missed about him. It was everything.

He pulled away again, "I love you."

I smiled back, "I love you too. So you're not going anywhere?"

He nodded, "I'm staying right here. I'm never going to leave you again."

"Good. I don't think I can take that anymore."

"Neither can I. I don't know who took it worse. You or me. Because I was pretty bad."

I smiled, "I know. Your mom told me all about it."

"I'm sure she did. You've got nothing to worry about now though."

"How did you plan this out so nicely?"

He shrugged, "I'm amazing. What can I say?"

"I know you are."

I leaned forward and rested my lips against his. I couldn't stop thinking about how much I had missed this. I never wanted to be with anyone else. I pulled away for a second.

"I've missed that so much."

He smiled, "Me too. It's been too long."

I nodded and rested my head against his shoulder, "It's been way too long."

"So I have some stuff to work out with my dorm room. You can come if you want. I don't know how exciting that will be."

"I'll come. That's fine."

He smiled and took my hand. We headed down to the housing offices. The whole time, we talked about everything that happened that we missed. I finally got him back. I never wanted him to leave again.

David worked out all the arrangements with his room in a short amount of time. He brought me back to his dorm room. It looked the same as mine. The color was a little different though. He had his bags set up on the bed, waiting to be unpacked. He took a seat on the other bed.

"I really don't want to unpack."

I smiled and sat down next to him, "Then don't."

"That works for me."

My phone vibrated. It was Anna. I opened the text message.

'Hey. Where are you?'

I knew she would freak out when she finally got her chance to meet David. I could keep her on edge with some suspense.

'I'll be back soon. Don't worry.'

I put the phone down. David set his on the nightstand. It wasn't the old one he had before he left.

"You got a new phone."

He looked over at it, "Yeah. I had to. My old one broke."

His old phone was very so beat up and overused, I wasn't surprised it broke.

"What did you do to it?"

"I dropped it. The screen cracked and it stopped working. They were able to transfer all my contacts and stuff into a new one. I still had to pay for a new one though."

I looked at the new phone. It was really nice and very new. It still had scratches on it though.

"And you still scratched it?"

He nodded, "Of course. I've dropped this one a few times too. It hasn't broken yet. I hope it doesn't. I don't like going back and forth to the store to buy new ones."

"How long did you have the last one for?"

He thought for a minute, "I got it when I was sixteen. So that's almost three years?"

"Wow. It survived a long time."

"It did. I don't know how but it did."

Anna texted me back, 'Okay. I'll see you later.'

"Who's that?"

I shook my head, "Anna. She's going to die when she finds out you're here."

"Really?"

I nodded, "Yeah. She thinks you're cute."

"Why?"

I laughed, "Because you are. You haven't changed at all. Your hair looks a little longer and darker. And you're a little thicker but still small. You're still the same."

"Is that a good thing?"

I smiled, "Yeah it is. I should probably tell her some place to meet up. Unless you want to relax. When did you get in?"

"This morning. I took a red eye flight out here and slept the whole way. I'm not too tired."

"Oh okay."

I texted Anna and told her to meet us at a little coffee shop down the road from our dorm. We headed over there a few minutes later. Anna was sitting at one of the tables inside. She waved when she saw me. She totally didn't notice David behind me until I said something.

"Hey!"

I smiled thinking about her reaction, "Anna, I have someone I want you to meet."

She looked behind me, "No way."

I laughed, "Yeah. Anna, this is David. David, this is Anna."

She smiled from ear to ear, "Oh my god. I've heard so much about you!"

He smiled, "I hope that's a good thing."

She nodded, "It is. So you're here visiting?"

David and I sat down, "No. I actually just transferred here."

"So you're here for good?"

He nodded, "Yup."

"Wow. That's great. So what do you think so far?"

She kind of didn't know what to say. It was amusing me.

"I like it. It's really nice here. I've never been."

"It is nice. Just wait until winter comes. We'll all probably take that back."

I smiled, "I don't mind the cold too much. I think I can live. It gets really cold back home too."

"It does. It snows a lot too."

David put his arm around me, "I'm totally fine with snowing as long as I don't get dragged skiing."

I had to laugh at that.

"Why? You can't ski?"

He shook his head, "No. I know how to. I'm just terrible at it. I always end up getting hurt when I do. Last time, my friends and little brother decided to push me down the hill."

"Ouch. Did they get in trouble?"

"No. My dad was with us and he laughed. My mom was mad though."

"Good someone is taking your side."

He smiled, "Yeah. My mom always does. I don't get it though. I've put her through a lot."

I knew what he meant by that. I doubted he was going to tell Anna about that when they had just met. He didn't tell me until a month and a half of dating. I was in the small little circle of people who knew about it.

"Aw. That's sweet."

"I know."

Anna still looked totally shocked that he was actually here, "I've heard so much about you. It's crazy to actually meet you."

He smiled. I couldn't get over how much I had missed his smile.

"I guess I expected that."

He looked over at me. I smiled back, "I tell everyone how wonderful you are."

"Thanks. I do the same."

There really wasn't much bragging for him to do though. I was nowhere near as amazing as he was.

Anna smiled, "You guys are so cute together."

I smiled back, "Thanks."

"You know, there was a party tonight at some house down the road. Would you guys want to go?"

I shrugged, "I would be fine with it," I turned to David, "Or do you want to relax and get some rest later on?"

He shook his head, "I'll go. I'm not too tired. I slept the whole time on the plane. I would just need to shower and get ready. I still smell like an airplane seat. Six hours is way too long to be stuck on a flight."

I leaned back and smelled his jacket, "You do. Change your jacket. It smells like pressurized air or whatever they do on planes."

He stood up, "I'll head out now and meet you guys back at your dorm when I'm done. Is that okay?"

I nodded, "Sure."

I stood up and hugged him before he left. I was using every opportunity to be close to him I could.

Anna and I headed back to the room to get ready for later. At around five, David showed up. He took a seat on my bed as I finished my hair. I came out of the bathroom and sat next to him. He put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him.

"So I think we should go out to dinner before."

I nodded, "Good idea. I haven't eaten much all day."

Anna agreed, "Me either. It slipped my mind."

David smiled, "Eating slipped your mind?"

She nodded, "Apparently."

"I don't think I could ever leave that out of my day. You guys know the area so I'll just let you pick."

I thought of some good places to eat around here. Anna and I had only sampled a few but there were a few really good ones around the city. Anna knew them by name. I didn't.

We got up and headed to one that was a ten minute walk from the dorm. I held David's hand the whole time. I couldn't get over how good it felt to know he was here and not going anywhere. We arrived at the restaurant and ate dinner. Since Anna was the only one who knew how to get to the party. It was my first college party. I had heard about them before.

There was always drinking and all kinds of bad influences there. I was done with that stuff a while ago. I was glad I gave all that up. If I didn't, I might not be with David because he had worked so hard to stop too. He was worse than I was.

We walked inside. There was loud music playing and people everywhere. This was a little different from the high school ones. I just hoped that James wasn't here. That would be totally awkward. I would arrange for James and David to meet somewhere else. Without other people. I had a feeling James would take every imaginable opportunity to get at David. He wasn't too crazy about him. I could tell.

We headed to the main room. None of us knew too many people there. It was a lot of older kids who had been there for a few years. I kept my arm around David. He was my sense of security when I needed it. I was never too comfortable in crowded places. It was a weird fear but I didn't like being cramped.

Anna took a seat on one of the couches. We sat down next to her. David stood up.

"Do you guys want anything to drink?"

Anna nodded, "I'll just have water."

He nodded, "Okay. Anything for you, Sam?"

"I'm okay."

"You sure?"

I smiled, "Yeah."

He left for the drink table. Anna turned to me.

"Can I just say again how adorable he is?"

I smiled, "Yeah. You can say it again. I love him."

"I can tell. I can also tell now more than ever since you're together that he loves you back."

I nodded, "I know."

"It's really rare for you to find someone as incredible as him."

"I guess I got lucky."

She smiled, "You seriously did."

David came back and handed Anna his water. He took a seat next to me again. He pulled the tab back on his beer can.

"I'm going to break a few rules."

I smiled, "Just be careful. Let's not get back into the habit of this."

He smiled back, "Don't worry. One isn't going to kill me. It's been forever though."

Anna looked confused, "What are you guys talking about?"

David looked over at Anna, "I used to have a drinking problem. It was bad."

She nodded, "Wow. I would have never known."

He smiled, "There are a lot of things that most people wouldn't know about me."

"Oh. Okay then."

I laughed, "Don't worry about it. He's not crazy."

He nodded, "The worst thing I've done recently was steal my little brothers iPod cord since I lost mine and forgot to give it back before I left. I think he probably found it by now."

She smiled, "What a way to live on the edge."

He smiled again, "Yeah. I'm awful. I steal iPod cords from fourteen year olds."

I brushed my fingers through his hair, "That's just cold."

"Andrew can get over it."

I smiled, "Have you talked to him recently?"

He nodded, "Yeah. A few days ago. He's good. Very bored but good."

"Aw. I bet he misses you a ton."

He shrugged, "I'm sure. He just would never admit it to me though."

"Of course not. You're mom does though."

"Oh all the time."

Anna looked across the room and nudged me, "Sam, see that guy over there?"

I looked over where she was pointing. She had her eyes fixed on a really cute blonde guy over by the windows. He looked like he was alone.

"Anna you should go talk to him. He's cute!"

She shook her head, "I don't know. I mean, I'm not pretty and confident like you are. I'm not good with talking to guys."

"Yes you are. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

David put his arm around her, "Sam's right I think you should at least try it. Who knows? You might get lucky if he's smart."

She smiled. You could tell how flustered she was around him, "Thanks, I just don't know. I'll get nervous and say something stupid."

I sort of knew how she felt. I felt the same way a long time ago when I first started dating boys. It never really changed.

I put my hands on her shoulders, "You can do it. Trust me."

"But I don't know that many guys. I don't know how they think or what they like. I mean, I have ideas of what they want out of a relationship but that's about it. I don't think they want the same things I do."

David chimed in, "I'm a guy. If that helps."

I laughed, "Yes, I knew that."

He shook his head, "Thanks. But seriously, if you just go up to a guy and start a casual conversation and act relaxed, things will be fine. It won't hurt to be yourself. And not all guys are into what you're thinking."

She smiled at him, "Thanks. But you're like an exception. I mean, you're perfect."

David glanced over at me, "Where did she come up with that idea?"

I shrugged, "Not me!"

He continued, "Anyways, I think it would be a great idea to talk to him."

She sighed, "Fine. But if something goes wrong…I'm going to hide in my dorm forever."

I laughed, "Forever?"

She crossed her arms, "At least until the end of the semester."

She headed over to the guy on the other side of the room. I grabbed David's arm to get him to look away.

"Don't look! He might notice."

He looked in that direction, "I'm not looking. I'm just monitoring. Things are going good so far."

I tapped his shoulder again, "Stop! I don't want to mess this up for her."

He stopped looking, "So this is a college party huh?"

I nodded, "I guess so. High school ones were so different."  
"I know. Those were the ones where I used to come home totally wasted and try to hide it from my mom."

I laughed, "Did you succeed?"

He nodded pride fully, "Most of the time. I got caught a few times. That was when I stopped with all that."

"Good. I like you when you're all sweet and innocent."

He nodded, "Sweet? Sure. Innocent? Hell no."

"You're very innocent compared to me."

"Maybe. That's okay though."

I leaned in and kissed him. I was totally taking advantage of this since he had been gone so long. I brought my hands to his waist and pulled him in closer to me. He pulled away.

"Do they have a back room for stuff like this?"

I smiled, "It's probably taken."

"Damn."

I smiled and kissed him again. It was hard to remember that we were in public when I was with him. He made it feel like we were the only two in the room. As wrong as that sounded.

He stopped for a second, "I think you have to come back with me after this."

I nodded, "Of course."

"So that's a yes?"

I smiled, "Yeah. It's a yes."

Anna came back to us a few minutes later.

I smiled, "So?"

She squealed, "He wants to hang out!"

I laughed, "See?"

She grabbed David tightly and hugged him in the same manner.

I continued, "Anna…Anna…he's a human. Humans need to breathe."

David laughed. She let go of him.

"Sorry. Thanks. That helped a lot."

He smiled, "You're welcome."

"So what's his name?"

"Cameron. He's here on a basketball scholarship and he's a freshmen like us."

I smiled, "That's great. You must have actually talked to him."

She nodded, "I did. And I didn't pass out!"

David laughed, "I doubt you would have passed out."

"No I would have."

After a while of just relaxing and hanging out, Anna decided to head back to the dorm.

"I'm getting really tired. It's been a long day."

I nodded, "Me too."

"So do you want to head back?"

I shrugged, "I think I'm going to stay at David's tonight."

She smirked, "Oh okay. Is there a reason for this?"

I shook my head, "Not really."

She smiled, "Okay. I'll see you in the morning."

She headed out and back to the dorm. David turned to me.

"You ready to go?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I also thought of an excuse for going back to your place."

"And what's that?"

"You're intoxicated and I can't let anything happen to you."

He smiled, "It was one beer. I think I'll be okay."

"Too bad. I'm still going with that."

He helped me up and we headed back to his room. It was very close to his building so there was little walking. I was relieved. I was exhausted. I took a seat on his bed and leaned back. He sat down next to me and smiled. I pulled him to my level. He brushed his fingers through my hair.

"I'm so glad I'm here. I've missed you so much."

I smiled, "I know. I'm so happy you're back."

He leaned forward and rested his lips against mine. I reached for the back of his neck and pulled him closer. I moved on top of him and unbuttoned his shirt. He smiled but stopped me.

"I would love to, but I'm drained. I need sleep."

I smiled back, "I know. Me too."

"Some other time. I promise."

"You don't have to promise me. It's okay."

"Alright. I'm totally going to bed. I'm not even going to bother changing."

I leaned forwards and kissed his forehead, "Okay then.

He smiled and pulled back the sheets. I curled up next to him and wrapped my arms around his midsection. I held him really tightly because I just didn't want to let go and have him leave again. I finally got him back and nothing was taking that away.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sam…Your phone is ringing."

I rushed out of the bathroom from fixing my hair to the night stand. Anna handed me the phone from the side of the bed. It was James. I didn't want to talk to him because of what happened the last time. I decided that I should give him another chance. I knew that was what David would say. I picked up.

"Sam! Hey…I haven't talked to you in a while."

I nodded, "Yeah. I know. Things have been insane the past few days or so."

"That's understandable. So I was just wondering if you had anything to do tonight?"

I didn't. I kind of wished I had an excuse but I didn't. I sort of made one up. Chances were that David and I were going to hang out later. I mean, I could use that.

"A close friend and I were going to hang out," I guess I could use this opportunity to introduce James to David. If they were in public, hopefully James could be mature. I didn't have to worry about David, "I guess you could come with us though."

His voice perked up, "Thanks. That would be cool. Where do you want to go?"

I thought for a minute. I still didn't know too many places around here. There was something down the road from our dorm room.

"Do you know the one restaurant near my dorm?"

"Yeah. That place sounds good."

"Cool. How does seven sound?"

"Great. See you later on."

I hung up.

"Who was that?

"James. We're going to hang out tonight. I'm bringing David."

Anna gasped, "Sam, are you trying to get him killed?"

I laughed, "No. David will be fine. I promise. I'll kill James if he does anything."

"Fine. I want to go to the mall."

I sighed, "Me too. It's so boring here."

She nodded, "I know. Let's get out of this room."

"Let me text David to see if he wants to meet us there."

She smiled, "He goes shopping with you?"

I nodded, "Oh yeah all the time."

"What a good guy. I could never get any of my old boyfriends to go shopping with me."

I sent the message and waited for a response. David texted back a few minutes later saying he would be there in a few. We headed out the door and grabbed a taxi to get there. It wasn't too close to the dorm.

We pulled up, paid and headed inside. I texted David to see where he was. He was near the main entrance leaning against one of the directories. He looked up and saw us. He smiled. I noticed he was wearing glasses. He normally didn't. He looked freakishly like Andrew now.

"Hey!"

I smiled, "Hey! How was your morning?"

He shrugged, "Fine. Very boring."

I put my arm around him, "Nice glasses."

He shook his head, "Thanks. My contacts burned out my eyes this morning so I have to wear them."

"I had no idea you had contacts."

He nodded, "Yeah for a few years. You never noticed the little container things in my room?"

I shook my head, "I guess not. They look cute. You look like your brothers now. You were always the odd one out."

He smiled, "I know. Now they can't say I'm adopted anymore."

"They could never say that. You look too much like your Dad and Adam."

"I know. Andrew's the adopted one now."

Anna always looked confused by our random conversations, "I'm lost again."

David smiled, "My little brother and I don't look alike at all most of the time. He used to say I was adopted since I didn't look like him. I look like my older brother though."

She nodded, "Okay. I got it now."

"Yeah. Anyways, what stores do you guys want to go to?"

We got up and headed around the mall to various stores. I bought a few things. So did Anna. We stopped in front of Hollister. I laughed.

"Want to go in, Dave?"

He shook his head and rolled his eyes, "God no."

Anna laughed, "What's wrong with Hollister?"

He shuddered, "I used to work at the one in the mall near us."

She gasped, "I went there all the time. There's only one mall in that area. I must have seen you at some point."

He smiled, "Probably not. It was only for a month and a half and I spent most of my shifts hiding from people while trying to organize the store."

She laughed, "Why were you hiding?'

"The clothes looked terrible on me and I had to wear them on shifts. My pants were always falling down."

"Wow. That's fun."

He nodded, "Oh yeah. And my boss hated me. I was smart though. He called me into his office to fire me and I quit right before he got the chance."

"Wow. How on top of it you are."

"I know. Anyways, new store."

I laughed. I still had to tell him about dinner with James.

I sighed, "David do you think you could do something for me?"

He nodded, "Sure. What is it?"

"So you know James?"

He nodded slowly, "He's the one you were sort of seeing right?"

I shrugged, "Yeah I guess so. He wants to hang out tonight but I didn't want to go alone because of what he did last time. So I invited you."

"Okay. I'll go. I'll meet him."

"Thank you so much. I really hope this isn't awkward."

Anna laughed, "David, you're in for an interesting night."

"Why?"

She smirked, "This guy is kind of weird."

He looked confused, "How is he weird?"

"There's just something about him that makes me feel uncomfortable. Something about his smile always hints that he's up to no good."

"Sam, if he's so weird, why do you hang out with him?"

I shrugged, "He's a nice guy. I do understand what Anna is saying though."

"Is he creepy?"

I shrugged, "Not really. Like what Anna said about his smile. There's something behind it and it's a little strange. There really is no harm in giving him a second chance."

"Well that's good. I think you should."

"So you're okay with coming?"

He nodded, "Sure. I don't mind."

I sighed, "Thank you."

He smiled, "Of course. I kind of want to be there so to make sure he doesn't cross any lines."

"I know. I'm pretty sure that he likes me a lot more than I like him. Maybe if you're there, he'll get the picture."

"Hopefully."

We headed to a few more stores then back to the dorms. I started to get ready for dinner. I invited Anna to come with us but she said no. She really didn't like James at all. David came over to the room just before seven. We walked over to the restaurant and paused before going through the door.

"God, I hope this goes well."

David smiled, "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine."

I took in a deep breath and opened the door. James was already there and had gotten a table. We headed over and took a seat. James smiled when he saw me.

"Hey! Good to see you again."

I sat across from him, "You too. Anyways, James this is David. David this is James."

James' face dropped, "Your boyfriend?"

I nodded, "Umm yeah?"

"So much for it being a close friend."

I sighed, "I technically wasn't lying. He is one of my closest friends along with being my boyfriend."

He nodded, "Okay then. Nice to meet you anyways."

I think David could now tell what I meant earlier, "You too."

James looked so shocked that it was hard for him to speak, "So…are you visiting or something?"

David shook his head, "No. I actually transferred. UCLA wasn't quite my thing. I had wanted to go here but something went wrong."

"So you're here to stay? Forever?"

He nodded, "Well for the next four years. That's not exactly forever."

James' jaw clenched, "That's wonderful."

This was really awkward. I shouldn't have brought David with me if this was how James was going to act.

"Yeah. I would much rather be here than so far away."

"I understand."

I reached under the table and grabbed David's hand. He turned his head my direction and smiled. I wrapped my fingers around his and subtly moved my chair closer to his. James was getting pissed off. I could easily tell. He stopped talking. The only time he talked was when he ordered dinner. It was probably the quietest meal I had in a long time. It had to have been before Anna was here and I didn't have anyone to hang out with.

By the end of dinner, James was ready to storm out of there. The check came and David grabbed it.

"Please don't pay. I got it."

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. We have this discussion every time we go out. Just let me pay and we can easily resolve this issue."

I smiled and gave in, "Fine. Thanks."

He smiled back, "No problem."

Totally forgetting that James was here and how mad he was, I leaned forward and kissed David gently. James grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the restaurant. I stood up.

"David, can I have a minute?"

He nodded, "Sure. I think you might need it."

I followed James outside.

"James, can you please act mature about this?"

He shook his head in what seemed like confusion, "I don't know. Sam, can you please explain to me what's going on?"

I sighed, "David transferred here. I don't know how else you want me to say it. Do you have a problem with that?"

He still looked furious, "I do have a problem with that. Sam, he doesn't love you. I know that for a fact."

I crossed my arms, "You do?"

He nodded, "He left you. You were a mess. What kind of boyfriend leaves his girlfriend like that?"

"But he came back."

He brought his hands to his face, "I don't care. I just felt so serious about this and he had to come ruin it."

I was starting to get irritated with him, "James, you knew from the beginning that I wasn't interested in anything more than being your friend."

"I felt differently."

"I can tell. I'm sorry but there will never be anything more between us."

James moved closer to me and tried to be romantic. He grabbed my hand. I wasn't okay with this. My boyfriend was inside. He could walk out here any minute now and see this.

"James. Stop it."

He frowned, "Why do you feel so differently now?"

"I've always felt this way. I don't want to be your girlfriend. I'm already filling that position for someone else."

He tried to get touchy again.

David walked out of the restaurant. He must have paid already. He came and stood right next to me with his arm around my waist.

"Is everything okay?"

I frowned, "No its not."

David seemed stiff and threatened. "What's wrong?"

I crossed my arms, "He's not getting that I'm not into him like that. It's making me uncomfortable."

He looked over at James, then back at me. "Are _you_ okay?"

I waited a second to see James' response. He moved near me again and caressed the side of my face.

"James will you please?!"

He leaned in more as if he were going to kiss me again. I stopped him short and pushed him back where he belonged.

I could tell David was not happy with this situation at all. He looked like he was trying to hold back all his anger.

"I told you it was making me feel uncomfortable."

He was still making these almost creepy attempts, "Please stop acting this way. Why is it okay for him to do it?"

I sighed in disgust, "Because I love him! There's a difference!"

He moved closer again and pressed his lips against my cheek. I pushed him away as fast as possible.

"Stop!"

I was getting more and more frustrated. I broke free of David's grip.

"James, you can't just admit defeat and leave it at that?"

He shook his head, "No. Because I was here for you when he wasn't."

David spoke up after being mainly silent at dinner, "Look, I understand being upset. But I don't think it should cause problems."

James crossed his arms, "Well of course you can say that. You get what you want. I don't."

I groaned, "James please. How old are you?"

David spoke again, "The arguing is a little childish."

James became even more infuriated, "Well why can't Sam pick for herself? Why do you have to make this decision for her?"

"She can. I don't think I'm making anything up for her."

James turned his glance to me, "So who will it be?"

I laughed at the immatureness of this situation, "James, seriously? You need to ask me for my answer?"

He nodded, "Yes. Please?"

I brought my arm back around David's waist. James bit down on his lip.

"This a good enough answer?"

David sighed, "Can you leave it at that?"

James took a few steps closer, "No."

David wrapped his arms tighter around me. He felt very protective right now. I felt extremely safe. He glared at James.

"If you ever touch her again or do anything to hurt her, I can promise you that you'll regret it."

He crossed his arms, "What if she comes onto me?"

I gasped, "Like I would do that."

David continued, "If she comes back to me like she is now…"

I stopped him. I had never heard him get that defensive before. This was easily the maddest I had ever seen him.

"Calm down."

He released some of the tension that was building up all over his body.

James smirked, "So what was that again? What will I regret?"

He raised his hand and threw a punch at David. It hit him hard. It sounded like it hurt really badly. I felt awful. I pushed James away from him.

"James! Can't you control yourself?! Seriously. I'm not even considering dating you since you're being such a poor sport."

He didn't look like he was holding any regret, "Me? A poor sport? What about him?! He just goes around bragging about how he won and all. Talk about a prideful winner. He gets what I still want and insists on rubbing it in my face!"

I shook my head, "I didn't hear any bragging."

He tightened his fists, "I would kill to have you. I think you know what I mean by that."

"You're seriously giving out death threats right now?"

I wasn't thinking anything of it. It wouldn't make sense for him to kill someone to get me.

"Maybe. I think it might be deserved."

I was so mad at him right now, "James, please just go. I don't want to deal with this."

He shook his head and turned to leave for his dorm. He walked down the street and crossed to the building. I turned my attention back to David. He was holding his nose and leaning against the brick building.

"I am so sorry. I had no idea he was that insane."

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it."

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, "I think so."

I moved his hand away from the side of his face. He was bleeding pretty badly.

"I feel so bad. Is there anything I can do?"

"No. I just have to wait for it to stop."

I tilted his head back, "Did he break your nose or something?"

He laughed, "I don't think so. It would be easy to tell if he did."

"You'll probably have a little bit of a black eye for a little while."

He nodded, "I know. I've lived through that before. Thanks to Jeremy. I'll survive though."

"Keep your sleeve up by your nose for now and let's head back to the room."

He nodded again and brought his sleeve up to his face. I put my arm around him and started to head back to my dorm. I turned the key and opened the door. I brought David in and sat him on the bed.

"Just stay here for now."

He leaned on the backboard of the bed. Anna looked curious.

"What happened?"

I headed into the bathroom to grab an ice pack, "James. That's what happened."

"What did he do?"

I came back out and handed David the ice pack. He applied it to his nose as I handed him a few tissues. He could stop ruining his jacket sleeves now.

David lifted the ice pack off his nose, "James has jealousy issues and he took them out on me."

She gasped and hopped to the side of the bed, "Oh my god! What a douche. I never liked him."

I laughed, "I know. I don't like him anymore either."

David butted in, "He apparently doesn't like me. God that hurt worse than getting it from a quarterback."

Anna grabbed the box of tissues from the nightstand and handed him another one. All the ones I had given him were already used, "Was that Sam's ex?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I must be some kind of human punching bag. James can throw a nasty punch though. I have a really high physical pain threshold but that hurt really badly."

I brushed my fingers through his hair, "I'm so sorry."

He flashed a smile, "Its okay. It wasn't your fault."

I still felt awful, "I shouldn't have brought you with us."

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Does it look okay?"

I raised the ice pack up and glanced over the side of his face, "It looks fine now."

He reached for another tissue, "God, this is embarrassing."

"Aw. It's fine. I don't care. I mean, I do care that you're okay."

He smiled again, "Thanks."

"Are you dizzy at all?"

He shook his head, "Not really. Maybe a little. That's just because I'm exhausted."

I put my arm around his shoulder, "I'm so sorry. I know I've already said it but I really am."

"It's totally cool. I just want my nose to stop bleeding."

Anna laughed, "Its fine. Neither of us care. We just both want to kick James' ass now."

I smiled, "She's right."

David sat up and threw his tiny pile of tissues out, "Does it look alright?"

I nodded, "Yes. It looks fine. You look just as sexy as you did before."

He shook his head, "Stop. You know that makes me uncomfortable."

I laughed, "What telling the truth makes you uncomfortable?"

He nodded, "No. Just don't call me sexy. It's not true."

"Of course it is."

"No it's not."

"Fine. You can go on believing that but you're wrong."

He crossed his arms, "Fine then."

Anna laughed, "I'm very sorry to break it to you, David. But you are really really hot."

He blushed, "Thanks."

She smiled, "You're very welcome."

I tilted his head near me, "It looks fine. Definitely swollen but it'll go down soon enough."

He shook his head looking clearly disappointed, "I feel like such a baby."

I put my arms around his midsection, "No. It's okay. You're tough. You can take it."

"I should be able to. Why am I so prone to getting beat up?"

I laughed, "Because you look like an easy target."

"How?"

"You aren't scary. Sorry to break it to you. You're just a cute little dork. People want to pick on dorks. But it's okay because I love you just the way you are."

He smiled, "Thanks for the backhanded compliment."

"You're welcome."

I brushed my finger down the bridge of his nose.

"Ow. Don't touch. It hurts still."

I smiled, "Aw. Poor you."

I leaned forward and kissed it.

"That hurts too."

"Just relax. You're going to be okay."

He nodded, "I know."

"Do you want to stay here for the night?"

He shrugged, "Do you have room for me?"

I nodded, "Sure. We have a bed and a couch. You can have my bed for the night. I like the couch."

"Sam, I can go back to my room if you want. I don't want to take up space in here."

I shook my head, "Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Of course. It's a long walk back to your room and I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. Thanks for the offer. I really don't want to walk all the way back."

I nodded, "It's dark and I don't want anything bad happening to you. Just stay here."

"Thanks."

I smiled, "No problem."

He took off his jacket and rested it on the end of the bed. I came over and sat next to him. I leaned forwards and kissed him making sure I didn't hurt his nose or anything.

"I'm still really sorry."

He smiled, "Don't worry about it."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

He leaned forward and kissed me one more time.

I smiled, "Night."

"Night. See you in the morning."

I changed into something more comfortable and rested on the couch. I pulled a blanket over myself and turned off the lights. I had a little trouble falling asleep. Anna was right. James was more violent than I initially thought. I should have listened to her. I never wanted anyone to get hurt, especially not someone I loved.

I should start being more careful when it came to James. I knew he was jealous and that he wanted me. I wouldn't think he would hurt someone to get there. He handed out a death threat. I really hoped he wasn't serious. It sort of scared me. No one should have to get hurt to be with me.

I also felt bad because this was the second time a jealous wannabe boyfriend tried to hurt David. He didn't deserve it when Jeremy did it and he really didn't deserve it now. I hoped that was the end of it. He was always going through so much just to be with me. I had never really done anything wonderful besides hurt him. He didn't deserve that either.

I was going to keep my distance from James. I would make sure that David did too if his death threat was serious. I really hoped it wasn't.


	11. Chapter 11

I got up later than normal the next morning. Anna was already up too and on her computer. She was an early riser too like me. David was still asleep. That wasn't surprising. I sat up on the couch.

"Morning."

She smiled, "Morning. How was the couch?"

I laughed quietly, "Fine."

She looked over at David, "He's totally out."

I nodded, "Yeah he sleeps really late. Just don't wake him up. You might regret it."

"What? He's cranky in the morning?"

I smiled, "Sometimes. I'm the only one allowed to wake him up."

She checked the clock, "It's like nine. How late does he normally sleep?"

I shrugged, "Ten most of the time."

She nodded, "Wow. What did he do when he got up for school at six?"

I shook my head, "I have no idea. He was always in a good mood in the mornings."

"Okay then."

I smiled again, "Yeah. I wouldn't bother him if I were you."

"I won't. I'll take your word for it."

"Good idea."

We relaxed for a little while before waking him up. We had things to do and I was tired of whispering. I got off the couch and headed over to the bed. I sat down on the edge and brushed my fingers through his hair. He groaned and rolled over.

Anna smiled, "I see what you mean."

"I know."

I did the same thing again. He rubbed his eyes and turned to me.

I smiled, "Good morning."

He weakly smiled, "Morning. What time is it?"

"Almost ten."

He sighed, "Wow. It feels earlier."

"Nope. How you doing?"

"Okay. I'm never one hundred percent when I just wake up."

I ran my finger down the bridge of his nose, "I know. Are you feeling any better?"

He nodded slowly, "Yeah. The side of my face is still kind of sensitive but that's it."

"Aw. Good. I'm sorry. I know I've already apologized a ton."

"Yeah you have. I'm fine."

I smiled, "Okay. So what do you want to do today?"

He shrugged, "I don't care. Whatever works for you guys."

Anna smiled, "I think we should go to the gym to get you toughened up so that last night doesn't happen again."

David sat up slowly, "Are you trying to say I'm wimpy?"

"No. Just that you could use a little bit more discipline."

"Oh. I guess that might be a good idea. I've put on some weight since school started."

I smiled, "You're fine. You could work out for weeks to get insane washboard abs and you still wouldn't take your shirt off for anyone but me."

He nodded, "True. I wouldn't."

"I know I'm right."

He rubbed his eyes, "I guess I should head back to my room and change. I can meet you guys back here."

"Sounds good."

He stood up and grabbed his jacket off the top of the couch.

"See you guys in a few."

He headed out the door. Anna and I got ready and waited for David to come back. I figured he would take a little while since it was still morning for him. He came back around quarter to eleven and we headed over to the gym.

I hadn't been here since we got to school. It wasn't too crowded yet luckily. I wasn't too good at using some of the equipment. Anna looked around.

"So where do you want to start?"

I shrugged, "I don't care."

Anna looked over at David, "I think we have to work on getting you into shape."

He crossed his arms, "What? I'm in shape. Sam says I have a six pack."

She laughed, "Okay, get on the ground and give me twenty."

He got down on his knees and into a push up position, "Okay?"

He did one. Anna frowned, "That's not a ninety degree angle."

He looked up, "What the hell?!"

She got down next to him then looked up at me, "May I?"

I nodded, "Go ahead."

I guess she was afraid I would get mad if she touched my boyfriend. I didn't care. I trusted her. She pushed him down a little more.

"Okay. Now hold it."

He stayed there for a few seconds then started to loose balance.

"Ouch. This hurts!"

I laughed, "You can do it. Build those biceps."

He held it there for a few seconds and then got on his knees, "That was hard."

Anna smiled, "If it hurts, it means your actually doing something."

"You're harsh."

"No. I'm not. I just have two brothers in the army. I'm used to it."

"I'm clearly not."

I helped him off the ground. He sighed. Anna looked around.

"How about weights?"

He reached for his arms, "That sounds a tad painful."

I laughed, "You can do it. This is entertaining for me."

"Glad to know my pain in brining you joy."

I put my arm around his back, "So now I know that if I get pissed at you, proper punishment would be to make you work out."

He nodded, "Yeah. Now, I'm going to try extra hard to be a good boyfriend so I don't have to do this."

"Don't worry about it. You're always good to me."

He nodded, "I try."

I smiled, "I know you do."

Anna grabbed his arm and dragged him to the weights. She set one up and signaled for him to sit down. He listened. I was sure he didn't want any more work put on himself.

"This one is twenty. Start with that."

He lifted it once without a big struggle. She glared at him, telling him to keep going.

"What did I ever do to you?"

I laughed again. This really was entertaining for me. He looked over at me.

"You think this is funny?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Pretty much."

"What did I do to deserve this? All I ever did was love you."

I couldn't help but laugh, "I know. This is funny though. It really is."

He frowned and continued. Anna looked over at the heavier weights. David noticed.

"No. Please don't. This hurts enough."

She smiled, "That's a good thing."

"I know it is but I don't like it."

After an hour or so of Anna working David to the point of exhaustion, she stopped her hardcore work out. David leaned back on the bench. I laughed.

"You okay?"

He sighed, "I have no idea."

I brushed my fingers through his hair, "You'll be okay."

He shut his eyes, "I can't move."

I smiled, "Yes you can. Here, sit up."

He grabbed his side and slowly sat up, "Ow. That hurts."

Anna came over, "How are you feeling?"

David groaned, "Sore."

"Good. If we do this once a week you'll be in the best shape you've ever been in."

He opened his eyes once she said once a week.

"Once a week? Hell no!"

I laughed, "How about every other week?"

"No! Please no!"

Anna smiled, "Too bad. Every other week it is."

"I'm going to die."

I stood him up, "You'll be alright."

"Dear God I hope so."

I laughed again, "Let's take you back to your dorm. Anna, I'll see you later."

She laughed too, "Okay. See you soon."

I helped David back to his room. I opened the door for him. He walked into the room and collapsed onto the bed. I smiled and took a seat next to him.

"Do you need anything?"

He nodded, "Yeah. An ice pack the size of my whole body."

I laughed, "I don't think they make those."

"Damn it. Ouch."

I leaned down and kissed him. He smiled.

"Poor baby. You'll be okay. I promise."

He groaned, "I need a nap."

"Okay. I'll let you sleep. Call me when you get up."

He nodded, "Yeah. See you later."

I got off the bed and headed back to my room. I walked in. Anna was sitting on the bed.

"Is he okay?"

I smiled, "He's totally fine. He's a baby when it comes to that."

"Okay good. I thought he was really hurt."

"No. There's nothing to worry about."

"Good. I felt bad."

I sat down on the bed, "He's sleeping now. He said he would call when he got up."

She nodded, "Sounds good."

For the next few hours we just hung out and did work for school. Anna's phone went off. She looked at the number.

"I don't recognize the number."

"Pick it up."

She answered, "Hello? Yeah this is Anna."

She dropped the phone to her shoulder and looked at me, "It's Cameron!"

I laughed, "I knew you should have picked it up."

She went back to talking to him.

"Yeah. I'm free tonight…the movies? I can do that…do you think my roommate can come with us?"

I thought it was funny how she was inviting me to go with her on a date.

"Yeah. That was her and her boyfriend…Sounds good. I'm dorm 421. See you later."

She hung up and squealed, "He asked me out!"

I laughed, "Yeah. I could tell. I'm invited too."

"Yeah. You and David can come with us. It will be like a double date."

I shook my head, "Okay then."

"Why do you not want to?"

"No that's fine. It's just funny."

"How? I need someone to monitor and help me out."

I smiled, "Why do you need someone to help you?"

She shrugged, "I'm not good with that stuff. David knew what he was talking about at the party. He's the only other guy I know here."

I laughed again, "Oh okay."

I waited a little while for David to call. He finally did around four. I picked up.

"Hey! How was the nap?"

He sighed, still sounding sleepy, "Wonderful. I needed that."

"Good. Just thought I should let you know, we were invited on a double date tonight."

He laughed, "With whom?"

"Anna and Cameron, the guy at the party."

"Oh. I see. I can do that. I haven't taken you on a date in a while. This works."

"Cool. They're going to the movies."

He sighed, "It better suck or else it's not a date for us."

I laughed, "No it won't. Our first date was at the movies."

"No it wasn't. Our first date was out to dinner."

"Oh okay. That was the first time we kissed then."

"Yes. So what time do you want me to come over there?"

I looked over at Anna and mouthed, 'What time?' She put up six fingers.

"Six. Is that enough time for you?"

"Yeah. I'll see you then."

I hung up and started to get ready. At around five thirty, David showed up. He looked adorable as usual. He had on a pair of jeans, a simple white V neck t shirt, and a black vest on top. I smiled when I opened the door.

"Hey! You look adorable."

He smiled back, "Thanks. I try."

I invited him in and took a seat on the bed next to him. Anna looked over from straightening her hair.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

He shrugged and smiled, "Better. Still having a hard time sitting up though."

"Bummer. That will be gone tomorrow though."

He nodded, "Yeah. I hope. It hurts."

"I know the feeling. Maybe we'll get you those washboard abs before winter break. Remember, I live fifteen minutes away. We can still do this over break."

He shook his head, "I don't think so. Well, since I haven't been home in months my mom will probably stuff me like it's not even funny, I might need it."

I laughed, "I bet she misses you so much."

He nodded, "Yeah. I just talked to her before I came here. She started counting down the days until I come home."

"Aw. I love your mom."

He smiled, "I know me too. She loves you too."

"How is Andrew doing in high school?"

He shrugged, "Fine. He doesn't seem to mind it to much."

"Good. Have you heard from Adam or Gracie?"

He smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I got a call from Gracie the other night. She found Adam's phone and called me."

I laughed, "Aw. That's so cute."

"I know. He couldn't figure out how she knew to call me. She's four. She can't read but somehow she knew to look for my name and press send."

"She's got to miss you like crazy."

He nodded, "Yeah. She does. She started preschool last month. When she said that, I felt so old. I remember when she was a baby. It's so weird."

"You're not even twenty yet. You can't feel old."

"That's what my mom says."

Anna turned around from the mirror, "Gracie is your niece?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I love that little girl."

I smiled, "So do I. She's hysterical."

"I know. Some of the things she says are too much. Like the night before I left, I told her I would be back at Christmas and the first thing she asks is if I'm going to bring her gifts."

Anna smiled, "Cute!"

"Yeah. She's adorable. I can't wait to go home and see her."

"And what about Bobby and Jeff? You've talked to them."

He nodded, "Yeah. They call me on a regular basis. Those two scare me sometimes."

I laughed, "Bobby called me a few times. He said he was going to recast the lead singer since you were away."

David laughed, "They better not! I made them!"

"I think he was kidding."

"I know. He wouldn't do that. He'd threaten it but never do it."

There was a knock at the door. Anna dropped the straightener and got the door. She smiled as Cameron walked in. I had never really seen him up close before. Only from a distance at the party. He was really cute. I could see why Anna liked him. He had long dirty blonde hair and really sweet brown eyes. He smiled when he saw Anna. He had a cute smile too. He looked very much like a basketball player. He had a very young face. He still looked like a kid but he was still cute. David was different. He looked a lot older than his actual age but still looked young. It was a very nice combonation.

"Hey Anna!"

She smiled, "Hey. I'm really glad you wanted to hang out."

He smiled again, "Me too."

Anna blushed, "Okay. So this is my roommate, Sam."

He put his hand out. I took his hand shake with a smile.

"Nice to meet you."

He smiled back, "You too."

Anna looked back at David, "And this is her boyfriend David."

David got off the bed and shook his hand as well, "Nice to meet you."

Cameron looked over at Anna, "So you ready to go?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

He held out his hand for her. She took it and smiled. This was so cute. I remembered back when David and I started going out. Everything was so new and exciting to us. Things were always exciting with him still after a year of this. It was nice getting to remember all that.

David held his hand out for me and we followed them out. The movie theatre wasn't too far away for us to walk. Cameron paid for Anna and David paid for me. I noticed David watching carefully to see if Cameron was doing all the things that a good boyfriend should be doing for Anna. He passed.

We took a seat in the theatre and waited for the movie to start. David wrapped his fingers and mine. I rested against his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.

He whispered, "I love you."

I smiled, "I love you too."

He tightened his grip on my hand as the movie started. Totally not surprising either of us, it sucked. I never cared though. I just liked having him with me. That made all the difference.

We left the movies and headed outside. Anna was still holding onto Cameron's hand like she was on the way her. I could tell just by the way she was looking at him that she really liked him.

I pulled David aside.

"This is really cute."

He nodded, "I know. It is."

He turned my head from looking over at them. He pulled me in and pressed his lips to mine. I smiled and kissed him back. I moved my hands up to the side of his face. I pulled away. It would be weird to be kissing him while Anna and Cameron stood there. This could wait till later.

Anna looked up at Cameron, "I had a really great time tonight."

He smiled back, "So did I."

"Do you want to hang out again?"

He nodded, "Definitely."

She smiled, "Good. So I guess I'll talk to you soon?"

He smiled again, "Yeah. For sure."

He leaned in closer and carefully kissed her. I grabbed David's arm. This was way too cute. Cameron pulled away. Anna smiled at him.

"Good night."

He smiled back, "Night."

Cameron turned down the road and back down the road. Anna walked over to us. She couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh my god."

I laughed, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I think so."

"Do you need me to bring you home?"

She nodded again, "That would be nice."

David put his arm around me, "You guys can come back to my room if you want. We're always over yours."

I smiled, "Sounds good by me. Come on Anna."

She nodded dreamily, "Okay. I'm coming."

She followed as we headed down to David's dorm. He opened the door for us. Anna took a seat on the bed. David dropped the keys on the table and looked over at Anna.

"Are we breathing over there?"

She nodded, "I think."

"Oh okay. Good. Just checking."

Anna came and sat near me, "Sam, he's great."

I nodded, "He is. I mean, I happen to like David better but I have my reasons."

David smiled, "Thanks."

I smiled back at him, "You're welcome."

Anna sighed, "Wow. Is this how you felt after your first date with David?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It was amazing."

"Okay, at least I'm not alone."

"Nope. You're not."

David headed into the bathroom and took out his contacts and switched them for his glasses. I loved them. I had only seen him wear them once but it was adorable. He walked back out and took a seat.

"Anna, this is really normal."

She looked at him, "Is this how you feel all the time?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Pretty much."

I smiled and sat next to him. He yawned.

"You tired?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I'm beat. You guys can do whatever you want, I'm going to bed."

He opened the drawer and grabbed a t shirt and some shorts. He slid his shirt over his head. Anna looked over at him. Her jaw dropped. I smiled.

"Hey David?"

He turned around, "Yeah."

Anna looked over at me and tried to maintain her composure. She looked over all of him in awe. She smiled. He looked curious.

"What do you need?"

I smirked, "I forgot. Never mind."

He turned back around and put a new t shirt on. He headed into the bathroom to change. Anna looked over at me.

"Oh my god. I don't know what to say."

I laughed, "Yeah. I know. He's gorgeous."

"Not even gorgeous. He's like a freaking god!"

"Just a little bit."

"You get to sleep with that almost every night?"

I nodded, "Yes I do."

She sighed, "Wow. I'm jealous."

"It's understandable."

She stood up, "I guess I should head back to the room and get some sleep. I've had a…long night."

I smiled, "Okay. See you in the morning."

"You're staying here?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I am."

"Okay then. Good night."

"Night."

Anna walked by the bathroom door, "See you later, David."

He answered from the bathroom, "Okay. Good night!"

She headed out the door and back to our dorm. David walked out of the bathroom.

"So what was the whole deal with me turning around before?"

I laughed, "You took your shirt off. Anna was dying so I had you turn around."

He nodded, "Oh. I think I could tell."

"Yeah. She was in awe."

"Of what?!"

"You. You're hot."

He sighed, "Whatever. Can we go to bed? I'm so tired."

I nodded, "Of course. Do you still have the pair of shorts and t shirt that I left here?"

"Yeah," He reached into the drawer and pulled them out, "Here you go."

I headed into the bathroom and changed into them. I walked back out and took a seat on the bed David was already falling asleep in. I cuddled up next to him.

"Night baby."

He looked down at me, "Night. I love you."

"I love you too."

It didn't take me long to fall asleep. It was just so nice and comfortable here. It was sad that something like that had to change. I sat up in bed and looked around. I saw James standing in the corner of the room. I started to panic. What was he doing here? I thought back to what he said the other night, 'I would kill to have you'. I felt chills up my spine. James moved closer to the bed. I tried to wake David up before James could get too close to him. James pulled a gun out of his back pocket and fired it once.

"Sam. Calm down. What's wrong?"

I opened my eyes. I could barely breathe. David sat up and put his arm around me.

"Sam, are you okay?"

I sighed and held onto him, "Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

I rested against his chest, "I guess I was having a really bad dream."

"What happened?"

I was still trying to breathe normally, "James was trying to hurt you."

He held me close, "Aw. Sam, I'm right here. He's not going to do anything to me. I promise."

"I know. I can't have anything happen to you."

"Nothing will. I'm safe. I'm right here. Everything is alright."

I could have stayed like this forever with him holding me this close. It was so comforting. He was right. James wouldn't try to hurt him. David was fine. He was right here and no one was going to take him away.

"Can we go back to sleep?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I'm okay now."

He smiled, "Good. I love you."

"I love you too."

He leaned back down on the bed. I rested against his chest. I was so surprised I was able to fall asleep again. I was scared to death after that last dream. It seemed so real. James wasn't serious. He wouldn't try to hurt anyone. I was just overreacting.


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up the next morning in the same place I had fallen asleep in. David was still here. Alive and breathing. Nothing was wrong with him. He was totally okay. I let go of David and sat up. He started to wake up. I leaned down and kissed him carefully.

"Morning."

He smiled, "Morning. I made it through the night."

I smiled back, "There was nothing for me to worry about."

"Exactly. I'm totally fine."

He sat up. I hugged him again, "I love you."

"I love you too baby."

I got off the bed, "I guess I should head back to my room."

He nodded, "Okay. I'll talk to you later so we can do something. I'm free today."

"Cool. See you later."

I got into my other clothes and headed back to my room. Anna was there when I got to the room. She smirked.

"How was last night?"

I sighed, "Fine. Weird. But fine."

"What do you mean 'weird'?"

I shrugged, "Nothing I just had a bad dream and it totally freaked me out at the time."

"What happened?"

I didn't want to remember it, "James was trying to hurt David."

"Oh god. I can see why you were so scared."

I nodded, "Yeah. It was really scary. I panicked. He calmed me down though."

"Of course. Having that boy hold you would calm anyone down."

I laughed, "Yeah it would. It always helps me."

She got off the bed, "I have a class. I should be back in an hour or two."

I smiled, "Alright. See you later."

Anna got off the bed and left. I decided to do some homework while everyone was gone. About a half hour after Anna left, there was a knock at the door. I figured maybe David came over here to hang out. I got off the bed and answered the door. I felt chills go up my spine the second I saw who it was, the same kind of chills I got in my dream last night.

"James. What are you doing here?"

He smiled. The same smile that really didn't make me feel good about anything.

"I was just in the area and I figured I would stop by."

James took a seat on the bed. I was really suspicious as to what he was planning on doing. But I had no idea how to pinpoint what was so weird.

"James, what's going on?"

I had no urge to talk to him whatsoever. Especially not after seeing how immature he was. Especially after he proceeded to hurt David for no apparent reason. He was fine, but it still didn't make it okay.

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior the other night. It was unacceptable."

I crossed my arms, "You can say that again."

"Is he okay? I didn't hurt him too badly, did I?"

I nodded, "He's fine. But you did hurt him. I had to bring him back to my dorm to wait for him to stop bleeding."

He sighed, "I want to try to tie up loose ends with David. We have something in common. We both think you're an incredible person."

There was something about the look in his eyes that hinted to me that he didn't actually want to make things good between David and him. He had something else planned. For some reason, I didn't think it would be good.

"So why don't you call him and ask him if he wants to hang out?"

I didn't want to drag David into this again. I had a really bad feeling about everything. Something about the wariness of James' voice and smile made me not want to pick up the phone. I shook my head.

"I don't want to bring him into this."

James stood up, "Please? I promise I will make it up to you."

I picked up my phone off the dresser and dialed David's number with a whole load of regret. He picked up right away.

"Hello?"

I took in a deep breath, "Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to come over for a little while to hang out."

"Sure. At your dorm?"

"Yeah."

My voice was shaky and scared. I think David could tell.

"Are you okay?"

I sighed, "Yeah. I'm fine. See you in a few minutes."

He hung up. I set the phone down. Something was very off. I looked down and sighed. I could tell I had just made a huge mistake.

"James, what is this about? Do you really want to make things work with David?"

He nodded hesitantly, "Well, lets just say, I really want to see him."

Something was completely offsetting by just that one line. I was running ideas through my head as to what was going on. He definitely had a motive.

"But you threatened to kill him the other night if he…"

I quickly realized what was going on. Why James was here. Why he wanted to see David so badly. Why he had me call him. I could feel tears coming fast. James looked down seeing as I had figured it out.

"James please don't. No. I'm begging you. Please don't do this."

He nodded, "Sam, you have to understand."

I shook my head and covered my face to try and stop the tears, "I don't know how I can understand. If you think that killing my boyfriend is going to change how I feel about you, you're wrong."

"You'll have no one to go back to. I'll be your only option."

I couldn't believe this was what he was resorting to. I reached to grab my phone. I had to stop David from coming before it was too late. James quickly snatched the phone up before I got to it, destroying my chances of saving David.

"Sam, you have to promise me you won't say anything. This is between you and me."

I shook my head while more tears rolled down, "I can't. I'm not going to let you just do this."

He gave me a fierce look and grabbed my arm really tightly, "Promise me you won't say anything to him or you will really regret it. I can make sure of that."

Either way, I was going to regret something. "James, I will do anything."

I realized the mistakes I had just made. Anything was a lot. There were definitely boundaries I had.

"And that anything is to keep your mouth shut and let me do what I need to do. Can you promise me that?"

With the deepest amount of regret, I nodded. That seemed like my only option to pick. I was going to try to do what I could to save him. There was a knock at the door. I looked up at James. He signaled for me to get it. He released my arm from his firm and strangling grip. I wiped my eyes real fast and opened the door.

David smiled. It almost made me want to burst into tears again. I felt awful knowing I was completely betraying him like this. I would feel better if it was something small. But this was huge. Huge enough to cost him his life.

"Hey."

He could tell right away that something was wrong. "Baby, are you okay?"

I led him in a little more, "Umm…Yeah."

David looked around the room, "Oh. Hey James."

James nodded, "David. I'm sorry about the other night. I don't know what came over me."

David shrugged, "No worries. We're cool."

I wanted to say something. David thought that there was nothing bad between him and James. He was far off.

James looked back down, "Yeah, we are."

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I had to say something about this before I missed my chance.

"David I need to tell you something."

James' attention shifted to me. He looked furious. I had come in between his plans. I didn't care though. Betraying James wouldn't lead to his death. But listening to him would lead to David's.

He nodded, "Sure. What's up?"

Before I got the chance to say anything, James pulled me into him and pressed a gun to my head. I felt chills run up my spine quickly after I saw the expression on David's face.

There was absolutely nothing there. He looked completely terrified. His eyes went blank and cold as his skin turned a few shades paler.

I was panicking just a little. No one really wants to die like this. I shut my eyes waiting for my next instruction.

James whispered roughly in my ear, "You broke our deal."

I nodded, "I know."

He pressed the gun harder to my head, "You know what this means?"

David stepped a little closer to him, "James, put the gun down. Please don't hurt her."

He removed the gun from the side of my head, "Oh okay then."

Was it really that easy? David sighed in relief. James released me from his grip and pushed me away from him. I stumbled into David's arms and buried myself in his jacket and began crying again. He tightly wrapped his arms around me. I don't think he had figured out at the moment that he was going to be killed.

He gently picked my head up and rested his hand on my cheek. He dried my tears with the other hand.

"Sam, what is this? Are you okay?"

I shook my head knowing that everything was on the line, "You have no idea. I wish I could tell you right now."

He held me tighter, "You can tell me anything."

He was right. I had to now. "David…its James…he…"

Just as I was about to finish my sentence, James raised the gun and hit David with it. Just the sound made me cringe. David took a step back, letting go of me, and rested his hand on the left side of his head. He pulled it away and looked down at the accumulating blood. James pulled me away again and held me close to his side. I couldn't get away at all. All within maybe five seconds, James fired two shots. Both of them hitting David in the same general area.

I felt my heart stop. I lifted my head up and looked at him. He looked completely shocked and really scared. He reached for his side and leaned against the wall. I could see his blood quickly pouring out onto his sleeves where he was holding himself. I tried to fight James to let me go so I could help him. James' arms were locked in a steady position. He wasn't going to let go of me anytime soon. I needed to break his grip before he succeeded in what he wanted to do.

For some sick reason, James wasn't quite satisfied. He fired once more a little higher near his chest and lungs. David groaned and tried to hold himself up against the desk in my room. I needed to stop this now. I pushed against James to get him to release me again, but nothing was working. I was doing everything possible to get him to stop or at least let me go.

"James! Stop it! Let me go right now!"

He just pulled me in tighter and pulled the trigger again. This one hit David in the left shoulder. Despite the minority of this hit compared to the other ones, there was a substantial amount of blood coming from just that one wound. I think he was trying to ignore that one to focus on the more fatal ones. James clicked the gun into place one more time. I shut my eyes and let more tears come down. He fired one final time. This one hit David right near his heart.

"Please! James, stop!"

James roughly let go of me. He kind of threw me to the ground. He looked around in horror and headed straight for the door. I was going to let him go for now. He would get what was coming for him later.

I rushed myself over to David. He was leaning himself against the wall to try and stay up. I put one arm around him and laid him down. I brushed a few stray hairs off his face. I quickly scanned him to see how bad it was. I immediately wished I hadn't. He was a mess.

"I'm so sorry this is my entire fault. I never should have brought you here. I didn't know what he had planned until after I called you and he wouldn't let me call you again before it was too late. This is all my fault. I never should have listened to him."

He shook his head. It was almost obvious how much pain he was in. It was heartbreaking. Especially when it looked like it was a huge struggle for him to even speak, "No. It's not. I don't think this was in your plans."

I looked over at all the hits. The blood was completely soaking through his jacket and shirt. It was also getting on me and the carpet around him. I could care less the fact that my clothes were getting ruined. That was the least of my concerns. I had never seen something this bad in my entire life. Not even in movies where all of it was fake, had I seen someone get shot and look like this. I was panicking again.

"I should have told you sooner so you had a chance to get away."

"Sam, don't worry about that now."

I slid one arm around his back and pulled him up closer to me and wrapped my arms around him. I had no idea what to do to help him. I wished I was a doctor so that I would know what to do to keep him with me.

I looked around the room for where James had put my phone. It was resting on the ground not too far from me. I grabbed it and dialed 911. The dispatcher picked up immediately.

"911. What's your emergency?"

I took in a deep breath trying not to burst into tears, "My boyfriend has been shot. We need help right away. Please. Can you get here as fast as you can?"

She made me list off addresses and location to find us, all while I was panicking and trying to make sure David was okay; which he wasn't at all. I hung up the phone and dropped it next to me. I hoped with every bit of hope I had that the paramedics would make it here in time. But there wasn't much left.

"David, you need to stay with me. I can't loose you. You have to be strong for me. Okay?"

He nodded, "I can try. I can't make any promises. If something happens to me you need to know this, I love you more than anything else in this entire world."

I let tears slide down my cheeks rapidly, "I love you too but you can't think like that. You're going to be okay."

"I hope you're right. I just don't see how it's going to work that way."

"David, please. You have to be positive about this. I'm not going to loose you."

He sighed, "Sam, I'm dying. There is nothing I can do to change that. I don't think I'm seeing a positive right now."

He shut his eyes and leaned his head back. I leaned down and rested my head on him. There was nothing I could do. I had never felt so helpless in my entire life. I couldn't even comprehend how much pain he was in. I had no idea. I wished I did though. I would give anything to take his place. But I couldn't because life didn't work that way sadly.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

He shook his head lightly, "I don't think so. I don't know if there's a way to stop all the blood affectively. I'm loosing way too much right now."

It was devastating to know that he was completely aware of everything going on. It was times like this that I wished he wasn't as smart as he was because maybe he would have different expectations.

"I don't know what to do."

He sighed, "There isn't anything you can do," He grabbed at his side again and bit down on his lip, "Oh god."

I held him closer to me, "Don't worry. You're going to be okay."  
I was trying to make sure he was still breathing. As of right now, he was, but really slowly and heavily. I couldn't help but just know he was going to die. I was trying to accept the fact that I might not have him much longer. I looked down and wiped the tears from my eyes again. They just kept coming.

Words couldn't describe how mad I was at James. He tried to take David away from me. I don't know if I would be able to forgive him for this. Especially if something happened to David. I would always hold something against him.

I held him closer to me. I didn't want to hurt him though. I was trying to be as gentle as I could. I leaned my head down and very carefully kissed him on the cheek. There was no response at all.

"No matter what happens, I'm not leaving you."

There was still nothing. It was making me so scared. I wasn't even getting a nod or anything. It was totally silent. The silence was one of the scariest parts. There was no one to tell me everything was going to be alright. I didn't see how everything would end up okay now. There was just no way he was going to make it out of this alive. I was trying not to give up all hope. It was so hard though. I couldn't find anything positive out of this situation.

I shook him lightly, "David, please. You have to stay with me. I can't loose you."

I wasn't expecting much of a response. I glanced over at the side of his head where James hit him. There was a lot of blood coming from there. The left side of his head was totally covered, much like the rest of him. Despite numerous gunshots, his head injury scared me the most. I was afraid he might have brain damage or something like that. If that was the case, he could die instantly. Or he could end up brain dead and need to be put on life support. Or the idea of him loosing some of his memory was terrible. If he woke up and had no idea who I was, that would be too much for me to take.

I pulled away one of the sides of his jacket. I couldn't tell at all where most of the shots were. Everything had come together and blended. It was awful to think about. I looked at the one hit right near his heart. His gray shirt was not even close to the original color anymore.

I couldn't shake the fact that every small move I made could be causing him extreme pain. Like when the paramedics got here and they needed to remove his jacket and shirt; that would probably kill. Especially because of his shoulder. It would be so hard to get anything on or off with that.

I tried to use certain parts of my jacket to stop the bleeding. The last thing I wanted was for him to bleed to death and find out I could have helped stop it. That was the one thing of advice he had given me. He was incredibly smart so I believed him when he said that would work. When I asked if there was anything I could do, it meant if there was anything I could to make it hurt a little less. I didn't want to try anything medical related because I could make a simple mistake and kill him.

I looked at the side of his face where he was still a little bruised from where James punched him the other night. I thought that was bad when it happened. I would have taken that over this any day. I should have taken what James said about killing to get me seriously. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't be loosing him more and more each second.

I was waiting for the ambulance to arrive and renew a little bit of hope that he would make it. They only had so much time left. He was running out more and more each second. With each heavy breath and every drop of blood leaving his body.

I looked down at my sleeves. Mostly my right one. They were completely ruined and stained. It wasn't a problem. I could care less about my clothes. It was just making me feel even more uncomfortable. Normally the smell of blood would make me sick. After a few minutes of this, I had adjusted and found a way to get over it. I was slightly impressed with myself considering how much was currently present.

I couldn't think of anything else to do. My sleeves weren't stopping blood anymore. They were just as stained and soaked as his shirt was. It was sadly doing no good. Nothing was. I was almost out of tears. They had stopped temporarily. I looked around me and at the carpet. There was no chance I could continue living here. No amount of cleaning could get rid of all this mess. I would have to request another room. I would be completely haunted by everything in it. I would already live with enough guilt. Even if he survived, I wouldn't feel any better about my share in this.

Far in the distance I could hear sirens. I let out a sigh of relief. I just hoped it wasn't too late. I was too afraid to do anything like check his pulse. I didn't really want to know. I would be fine living a fantasy pretending that nothing had happened. There were voices coming from the hallway. The door opened and two paramedics walked in and got down on their knees.

I slid away from him to let them do what they needed to do. I still held onto his hand though. I wasn't letting go. I had no idea the next time I would be able to do this while he was alive. I may have already missed my chance. They checked his pulse quickly. The blonde woman looked up and removed her hand from the side of his neck.

"There's still a pulse. Very slow. We could only have minutes if that at the most."

I wanted to break down and start balling again. If they were right, they had to hurry and do something. I couldn't loose him. They couldn't let him just die on me. The other girl looked over at me.

"I'm going to have to ask you some questions. Do you think you can answer them?"

I nodded, "Sure."

"Okay. How long ago did this happen?"

"About twenty or so minutes ago."

It had really been twenty minutes. It had seemed like hours for me.

She nodded, "Okay. Do you know what happened?"

I didn't want to talk about it. But if it meant saving David's life, I was going to have to.

"Yes. This guy named James that I know told me he was planning on killing him and made me promise to keep it a secret. I couldn't do it. So just as I was about to tell him, James started firing at him."

"And did you try to do anything to help?"

Was she trying to make me feel bad for not? I shook my head with deep regret.

"I tried to stop the bleeding but I don't think it helped at all."

She rested one hand on my shoulder, "Its okay. I'm going to need you to remain calm for me okay?"

I nodded, "Okay. I think I can do that."

She smiled and turned her attention back to David and the other nurse. The other nurse carefully removed his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. She grabbed a few gauze pads out of her bag and pressed them against each gunshot wound.

There were five in total. I hadn't counted before. But now that it was all in front of me and obvious as ever, I counted. The other paramedic started to take care of his head injury. For some reason, that made me really nervous. It was always scary when someone had taken a hit to the head. Because you had no idea what would happen next. He could easily have a bad concussion and die because it went unnoticed. The brunette nurse who was talking with me checked his pulse again. Her face looked even more panicked.

"We have to get him out of here now or we're going to be too late."

I felt my heart stop yet again. She turned to me.

"We can give you a ride to the hospital if you'd like."

I nodded, "Thank you."

I wasn't going to leave him. Because I knew if I did something would happen and I would hold even more regret. I couldn't seem to tear myself away from all of this. I didn't want to see what was happening to him and basically watch him die in front of me.

After another minute or so, they were able to get him out of the dorm and into the ambulance. I took a seat in the back and shed my bloodstained coat. I didn't want to attract any attention to myself once we got there. I looked over at David and held onto his hand. It really scared me the fact that he wasn't holding on back. It was just me this time. It was also alarming how cold his skin was. It felt like he had been in the freezing weather for a while.

I had never seen him so weak and helpless before. He was always strong and powerful no matter how tough the situation was. I relied on him for anything and everything. And the one time he needed help, I let him down. I should have never agreed to listen to James. None of this would have happened. If I had figured out what he was up to sooner. None of this would have happened. I couldn't get over how everything came back around to my stupid mistakes. Mistakes that could have been avoided and handled differently.


	13. Chapter 13

During the few minutes on the way there, I was baffled with all these complicated medical terms they were throwing all over the place. I wasn't paying attention to anything. The nurse told me to stay calm and the only way for me to do that was to try and block everything out. My surroundings were not exactly calm.

The ambulance pulled up to the hospital and came to a halt very quickly. I was supposed to wait in the waiting room. I couldn't stay with him forever. They had work to do and me being there would interrupt so much. I took a seat on one of the chairs.

I couldn't even begin to describe how scared I was. I didn't want anything to happen to him. I felt better knowing that the hospital was in control. They knew more than I did. But at the same time, being away from David was killing me.

I quickly remembered that Anna was out. What was she going to think when she got back to the dorm and saw all of this? She would freak out. I quickly grabbed my phone and dialed her number. She picked up almost instantly.

"Hey Sam!"

Her voice sounded so calm and laid back compared to mine right now, "Anna. Are you at the dorm?"

"No. Why?"

I sighed, "I need you to not go there for a while."

She suddenly sounded concerned, "What?! Why?! Do you have some kind of surprise for me?"

"It's complicated. Just stay out until I explain things."

"What happened? Is everything okay?"

I shut my eyes, "No. There's a little bit of a problem."

She gasped, "Is there anything I can do?"

I tried to think of something. I guess she could come here and I could explain then, "Hey would you mind coming to the hospital? The one near our dorm?"

"Oh my god. Are you okay?!"

I nodded, "Sort of. Just come and I can tell you then."

She gasped again, "Okay. I'll be right there. I'm just down the road. See you in a few."

I hung up my phone and covered my face with my hands. Stay calm. Stay calm. I was trying my best. A few minutes later, I heard the automatic doors open behind me. I turned around. Anna was rushing in my direction. She looked really frantic.

"Sam. What is going on?! I'm freaking out here."

I stepped over to the side of the room trying to prevent anyone from seeing Anna or I if either of us started to lose it.

She noticed the bloodstains on my shirt. I had tried to eliminate any signs of it while in the ambulance by getting rid of my jacket, which was completely drenched.

"What happened?! You're bleeding."

I shook my head, "No. I'm not."

"Then who is? Or…was? Then can you please tell me what the hell is happening? I'm so scared. Please tell me everything is okay."

"It's not really okay."

Her face dropped, "What?"

I looked down, "Anna, this is just as hard for me to tell you as it is for you to hear."

"Okay, I understand. Why are we here? Where's David?"

My eyes started to tear again making it obvious to her what was going on, "I don't even know where to begin this."

Every ounce of emotion was instantly gone from her face.

"Does it have to do with him?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It does."

"No. No! Please tell me you're not being serious. No. Please tell me he's okay."

I shook my head, "I have no idea."

Her eyes welled up with tears, "No! This can't be happening! Please no! What happened?!"

I sat her down and tried to explain as calmly as possible.

"Okay, so you know James?"

She nodded.

"Well, I think I told you about his issue with David the other night at the restaurant and he got into a small argument with David. So anyways he showed up earlier at the dorm while you were at class. He was acting really suspicious and asked me to call David to see if he wanted to hang out with us. I didn't want David having to do with him just because I didn't want him to get hurt again. But James made me. And David agreed to come. Just after I hung up, I totally knew something was wrong. James told me he was planning to kill David when he got here. I was of course freaking out and loosing it. Begging him to change his mind. I tried to get my phone and call him before he got here but it was too late. So I tried to tell him what James was planning but James grabbed me tightly and held me at gunpoint."

She gasped in horror. Too bad I didn't even get to the awful part yet.

"So he let me go and I tried to tell David again so at least he could fight back or get out. But as I was about to say something, James grabbed me again and shot him."

She started crying really hard immediately, "Are you kidding me?"

I shook my head, "No. I'm not."

"Is it bad?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It's really bad. That's why I didn't want you to go back to the dorm and see all that. It looks like a horror movie setting."

"Is he okay?!"

"I have no idea. All I can do is hope that they know what they are doing."

She covered her face and continued to bawl, "I just don't get it. Why would James even think to do that?"

"I don't know."

"Where was he hit? Are they places where they can still keep him alive?"

I shook my head, "Almost all pretty bad. There were three in the stomach area, one in the shoulder, and one near his heart. And there was one head injury."

"And you stayed with him?"

I nodded, "I had to call 911. Which is why my clothes are all bloody. I couldn't leave him. Not even in the ambulance. I held onto his hand the whole way."

"I am so sorry. How long will it be before we know anything?"

I shook my head in uncertainty, "I have no idea."

The minutes passed slowly for us. Just waiting for something to happen. Just after Anna arrived, David's mom called me. She was completely frantic and on her way to the airport to catch the next flight out here. I could tell she had been crying a lot. I didn't blame her. So had I. I couldn't imagine her feelings.

Her son goes to college for a few months and you get a call telling you that he's been shot numerous times and was in critical condition. I didn't know which was worse. Living through and trying to keep the love of my life alive in my arms or finding out that he was nearly dead and being really far away.

After what seemed like hours a nurse came out to Anna and I. She sighed.

"So his condition is stabilized but still extremely critical. There are a few things we still have to keep our eyes on. Besides the gunshot wounds, there was blunt head trauma. He lost way too much blood. That really made it a close one. Altogether, this whole situation was a close one. If one of the shots had been over a centimeter, chances are he would be paralyzed from the waist down. Also, most of the time when people have head trauma like that, they end up on life support or without proper functioning of their brain for the rest of their life. He's lucky. He really is."

I let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you so much. So he's going to make it?"

She smiled, "Yes. It will take a lot of recovering though. It'll be a little while before you can visit him though."

I smiled back. That might have been the first of the day. I let another hour pass by slowly. For the first time ever, Anna and I were silent. There was nothing to really say. I couldn't find words at the moment.

I had no idea how long it would be before we would find out more. We decided to go have lunch in the café to try and get our minds off of it. It wasn't working out so hot. Time passes so slowly when you are scared as hell. Even though the nurse said he would be okay, I couldn't help but think that something might change there. I had honestly been traumatized for life. I wished I never had to see that.

Anna for once wasn't talking much. She just wanted to know more. I think she might have been as scared as I was. If not, maybe just a little less freaked out.

"I can't believe this happened."

I nodded, "Neither can I."

"But James seemed too relaxed and proper. I would never expect him to be a homicidal maniac. Of all the people."

I saw it coming the other night at dinner.  
"I could tell he was somewhat violent. I told you about what happened after we hung out. He's just jealous. And apparently to him, killing my boyfriend was going to make me love him. Maybe if he had done it when I wasn't there watching, he might have gotten his way if he was able to convince me he didn't do it. I would probably be so completely devastated that I would believe it."

"I understand. You know he's going to end up in jail right?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Most likely. I honestly hope he spends a really long time in jail. He deserves it."

Anna nodded in agreement, "He does. He tried to kill someone. How long do they get in jail for that?"

"I have no idea. But if you ask me, this was pretty brutal."

She cringed, "What does the room look like?"

"I can't even begin to tell you."

She shook her head, "How long do you think it will be before we can go back?"

"I don't know. I guess anytime if you want to get your stuff. I think we should suggest a new room. There are others available. I think we need one. I can't go back living there."

"I know. Neither can I. And I don't even know what it looks like."

"You don't want to know. It's awful."

More time passed and the tension had started to go down a little bit. I was still scared like crazy. But no one had come to tell us any bad news so it seemed like things were going okay with whatever they need to do.

I got a call from David's mom a few minutes later.

"Hello?"

She sounded even more frantic than she did before, "Sam, are you still at the hospital? I just got here."

"Yeah. I'm in the café with my roommate."

She sighed, "Okay, thank you. I'll see you in a few minutes."

I hung up. Anna glanced over at me.

"Who was that?"

"David's mom. She just got here."

"She flew all the way out here?"

I nodded, "Her son got shot. She has to be here."

A few seconds later, his mom walked in. I stood up as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Sam, are you okay?"

I nodded, "I'm fine. Physically anyways."

"Okay good."

I was surprised that the first thing she did was ask about my well being when her son was close to dying. It didn't make sense.

I picked my head up, "I am so sorry."

She let go of me, "There is nothing for you to be sorry about."

We both sat down, "Of course there is. This was my fault."

"No its not."

"You don't know the full story then."

She looked interested, "What happened?"

I sighed, "While David was in California, he told me to go out and make new friends and see other people since I was having such a hard time dealing with him being gone. So I met this guy named James. He came across really sweet and caring until I brought David to hang out when he got to Boston. They got in a little bit of an argument and I guess James got really mad and wasn't quite done with him yet. So he came over to my dorm this afternoon and asked me if I wanted to invite David over to make things work between them. So I called him, even though I knew something was off. But just as I hung up, James told me he was planning on killing David when he got here. So I, of course, did everything I could to stop it from happening before he arrived. But after James wouldn't let me call him back, I knew I was loosing chances. Then once he got there, I tried to tell him that's what James was planning. But instead of me getting to finish, James pulled out a gun and held it against my head. After he let me go, I tried to tell him again, but this time, James took the gun and started firing it at David. I did everything I could to try and stop him but nothing worked. I should have told him or tried harder to call him back. I could have done something…"

His mom stopped me, "Sam, honey, calm down. I understand. It's not your fault. Believe me. And I'm sure David told you the same thing."

I nodded, "He did."

"So I think you should listen to him. And me too. Because it's obvious that you tried to help. Even though it didn't work out how you would have wanted it to, the fact that you didn't leave him and stuck by him, gets rid of any ideas that it had anything to do with you."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. I know this is hard for you."

I started to tear again, "It should be harder for you. He's your son. I'm not even related to him."

She smiled, "But you love him. I haven't seen someone give so much to another person like you do in a long time. You have every right to be upset. It's scary."

I wished I could be as calm and relaxed as she was. It was just amazing how she wasn't a complete mess. There had been a few times where I was really upset and I would talk with his mom, like she was my own.

"You can say that again."

She nodded, "It's a lot worse for you than it is for me. You were there the whole time."

"I know. I just couldn't pull myself away."

"And maybe that's the reason he didn't die right there."

I had no idea what to say, "No. That's not even a possibility. It had nothing to do with me. I didn't do anything! I just sat there. It was all the paramedics and doctors. They are the ones that can save him. Not me."

She smiled, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

I wasn't going to take this, "The only thing I had to do with this was nearly kill him. I feel like I was the one that actually pulled the trigger. I completely betrayed him."

Anna stopped me, "No. You didn't betray him. You did anything but that."

David's mom agreed, "I don't know everything that happened but from what I do know, you shouldn't feel that way."

I sighed. They were right. I hadn't done anything wrong. I tried to stop things before anything bad happened. I tried to do the right thing. Too bad it didn't work out all that great.

"Do you think he'll be mad at me?"

They both shook their heads. Anna looked shocked that I would have said something like that.

"Are you serious? He won't be mad at you."

His mom rested her hand on my shoulder, "Sam, you shouldn't be worrying about all this stuff. It's going to be okay."

I was so amazed by how calm she was despite the fact that her son was in such trouble. If I were in her position I would be loosing it the whole time. I was trying not to do that again. I had already cried enough for the day.

A few minutes later, the same nurse that had come out before, showed up. She looked slightly more positive than she did before. I took that as a good sign.

"Well, it's okay to go visit him now. I'm sure one of you wants to."

I sighed. I was really relieved but at the same time, really scared. I had no idea what to say. 'Sorry I'm the reason you got shot' doesn't really work that well. Anna and David's mom both looked at me first. Anna smiled.

"You first."

I shook my head, "I can't."

His mom looked surprised, "Why not?"

"You're more important. He's your son. I'm just his girlfriend. I don't know if he's the first person he wants to see anyways."

"Sam, there are some things you need to let him know. I think that it would make more of an impression on him if you went first. I can wait. He's not on his toes waiting to see me. He wants you. Trust me. I know that for a fact. He always wants you."

I smiled, "Okay. I'll be back."

I stood up and took in a deep breath. I headed back to his room. It didn't take me long to find it. I opened the door. I felt bad having to wake him up, but if anyone was going to do it, it had to be me. Those were the rules.

"Hey."

I was trying to be quiet. He opened his eyes slowly and smiled. I was glad he still had that with him.

"Hey."

I sighed, "I think we need to talk."

He nodded, "Am I in trouble?"

I shook my head and smiled, "No. But you certainly can't seem to stay out of it."

"Yeah. You're right."

"I just want to tell you how sorry I am. For all of this."

He shook his head, "Why are you sorry?"

Same response I got from everyone, "Because I can't help but feel like this is my fault. I mean, I'm the one that told you to come over. I'm the one that betrayed you and almost got you killed."

He smiled, "None of that was your fault. You didn't betray me at all. I'm not mad at you. I'm really not mad at anyone."

"I just don't get how you can feel that way."

"I'm alive. I don't know how much simpler it can get than that."

I smiled back, "I think I understand. But it's not like I did anything to help."

"Yeah you did. You didn't leave me to die. You were with me the whole time. Even though I was sort of passed out and unconscious for most of it, I could still tell. Believe me; I could feel you holding my hand in the ambulance. And I could hear everything you said to me and the paramedics. I was totally aware of what was going on."

"You were?"

He nodded, "Of course. You have to trust me when I say I'm not mad at all."

"You should have stayed in California."

He shook his head, "No. I wouldn't want to go back to UCLA for anything. Even this. Because I was a mess out there. Much like you were out here. I needed to be with you. I wouldn't trade that for anything else."

I could feel tears building up. This time, they weren't because I was sad though. I was completely amazed. The fact that he would have rather gone through all this pain he had to than be away from me was unbelievable.

"I don't know what to say to that."

He smiled, "Then don't."

He signaled me over closer to the bed. I took a seat on the other side, seeing as his left arm was pretty badly hurt. Most of him was hurt pretty badly when I thought about it and looked at him.

Most likely he would be covered in scars that would make me feel awful every time I saw them. I wouldn't be able to get over that.

"Sam," I looked him in the eyes. I was able to see the same sincerity and depth that was there in the beginning of all this craziness, "I love you."

I blushed and started to tear up again, "I love you too. But I don't get how you can say that after all I have put you through."

He smiled. "Because I just do. I don't plan on ever stopping. No matter what. I'm always going to be there for you."

I smiled back, "Thanks."

I wished I could have said the same for me. I wanted to always be there for him, but I clearly couldn't because I didn't do much to save him when he got shot. I wanted to change the subject. Because either way, I was going to feel like crap about everything.

"So you're going to make it?"

He smiled and nodded, "Looks like it."

"You're pretty tough to take all of that."

"No. It was just five hits. Nothing too much."

I smiled back, "Oh that's nothing."

"I wonder how James will feel when he found out he didn't do away with me."

"If he tries to do anything else to you, he's really going to wish he never met me. Well, he might wish that now."

He tried to laugh, but stopped, "Ow. Anyways, I don't need you trying to get even with him. Who knows what kind of madness that might bring out?"

"Very true. I guess this goes to show that I don't have very good judgment after all."

He shook his head, "I wouldn't say that. You didn't know that he was some kind of jealous homicidal maniac. But I don't blame him for being jealous. I'm pretty lucky to have you."

I blushed, "Thanks. What would you have done in my position? You would probably be definitely not as stupid as I was."

He thought for a minute to come up with an appropriate answer, "Well, had he done something to hurt you, he wouldn't have been able to get out of there without serious injuries if that was the case."

"No you wouldn't."

He nodded, "Yeah I would. Anyone who tries to hurt you is going to get it from me. And I don't do that very often. It normally takes a lot for me to get mad, but that would make me snap in less than a second."

I smiled, "Thanks.

"I don't know why you would expect any different."

"I don't. Your mom is here. She flew all the way out when she heard what happened."

He smiled again, "I figured. She was probably a nervous wreck. I won't be leaving my room or wherever she decides to lock me, for a very long time."

"No. She was actually pretty calm. I was the one freaking out. She calmed me down."

"Why were you freaking out?"

I gave him a strange look, "You're really asking me that?"

He nodded, "I guess so."

"I was freaking out because my boyfriend was about to die in front of me and I had no idea if you would make it or not."

"Oh. Well, I made it. I'm going to be okay. You shouldn't have been so scared. You know I would never leave you."

"That was out of your control. I don't think you wanted this."

"I'm not complaining. I could have lived without it though. It's not a huge problem. This isn't going to haunt me for the rest of my life."

"It will for me."

"Don't let it. You're killing my optimism here. You knew I would make it. I know you did deep down. I wasn't going to die."

"How did you know that?"  
He raised his shoulders as much as he could, "I put my trust in a lot of people. There's a reason I'm still here."

"You promised Gracie you would be home for Christmas. If you died, you might have been in serious trouble with a three year old."

He smiled and nodded, "There's the reason then."

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. The heart monitor went up quickly for the two seconds that my lips were pressed against his cheek. I smiled.

"We don't need you to get rushed into a heart attack too."

He blushed, "Dead giveaway. Damn machine."

I smiled back at him, "Don't worry. Same thing would happen to me."

"Oh really?"

I nodded, "Yup. You're my weakness."

"Same here. I don't know how I'm going to survive here for a while."

"Why?"

"I can't move. I can't really do anything."

"Aw. Poor baby. I'm here to hang out with you. Don't plan on me ever leaving."

"Sam, you need sleep. And food."

"Hey, the chairs are pretty comfy here. And they have a café. I'm all set. It doesn't help that I can't even go back to the dorm."

"Why no-Oh. I get it. I take it you guys are going to get a new one then."

I nodded, "Probably. Anna's here too. I couldn't let her go back to the dorm and see all that."

"I know. That reaction would have been ridiculous. She would panic."

"Exactly. She did later on when she got here though. I don't blame her. You should have seen my jacket. That was a mess. Even when I got that taken off, my shirt is still pretty bad."

"I can imagine. I don't want to know what my clothes looked like."

I sighed, "From what I saw, a lot worse than mine."

He nodded, "That sounds about right."

I didn't know how much longer I would be able to hold everything in. I had gotten out everything I wanted to say but I still felt like I needed something to release. I kind of wanted to cry again. No matter how many times he told me this wasn't my fault and not to feel guilty about it, I was going to. None of this had to happen. It was something that happened because of my stupid mistakes. I think I was making it obvious I was still upset.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head having no idea what to say. If I said anything I would be repeating myself.

"I…I don't know how to put it without totally repeating myself."

He sighed, "Baby please. You have nothing to worry about."

I looked down, completely ashamed, "I just hate seeing you like this."

He tilted my chin up, "Like how? Alive? Totally fine? What's wrong with that?"

I shook my head, "Nothing…but…but I-,"

"But what? What else do you want? I don't know how many times I can tell you that I'm not mad at you."

He motioned for me to lie down. Again, I was extremely careful. Being back in that position was so comforting after all the craziness.

I sighed, "I'm not hurting you, am I?"

He shook his head, "Not at all."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded with a sweet smile, "Very sure."

I rested really carefully on his shoulder. I tried to avoid anything that might cause him pain. I mainly kept my head on the pillow. I didn't know where exactly all the places were so I tried to keep my hands away from him to avoid hurting him. That was the last thing I wanted.

I leaned over again and kissed him on the cheek. There was no harm in doing that. The heart monitor didn't race this time though.

"Nice self control. I didn't want to give you more problems."

He smiled, "I don't need you raising my blood pressure anymore than it already is."

"Stop it. You don't have high blood pressure."

He nodded, "Yeah I do. It runs in the family. I'm fine though."

I smiled, "Good,"

He wrapped his useable arm around me and pulled me in closer.

"So you're going to be okay?"

He smiled, "I'm going to be fine. Trust me on that one."

I smiled back, "I'm glad to hear that. Are you in any pain right now?"

He sighed, "Not really. I feel pretty stiff and numb. I guess they gave me a lot of morphine."

"That's a good thing then. I would much rather be numb than in pain. That's a slightly obvious choice."

He nodded, "Exactly my thinking. The nurse told me that I wouldn't want to feel my left arm. So I listened."

I laughed, "You would be stupid not to."

"Well…"

"So this means you won't be able to do a bunch of stuff for a while."

"I know. Any chance I had at a baseball career is shot now. I doubt I can throw a curveball anymore."

"Aw. And that's why music is going to work out for you."

He smiled, "I hope."

"I know it will."

"Let's see how long it will be before I can pick up a guitar again."

I was kind of curious as to what the long term side effects of this would be.

"Did they say anything about that?"

He sighed, "The nurse said that it might be a little while before I can do everything I was able to do before. I'm going to be really sore for a while. But luckily I won't have to deal with any physical therapy. I had to go through that with my knee a few years ago and I hated it."

"That's good. Was there anything else?"

He nodded, "Because of the head injury, I would most likely have frequent headaches. But they wouldn't be that bad all the time. The main doctor said they would be very short. And any regular headaches would be longer and more severe. But that's nothing I can't deal with."

I felt bad that he had to be left with aftermath consequences. I hoped that they wouldn't last forever. There would always be something there to make me feel terrible.

"And you'll have some lovely scars to blend in with the others."

He smiled, "That's true."

I tilted his head towards me to look at the stitches along the left side of his forehead.

He continued, "I might have to grow out my hair to cover that one up. I think they said that one was thirty two stitches."

I smiled and looked at it again, "I don't know about that. It's not nearly as bad as it looked before."

He bit down on his lip, "Was it bad?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It looks much better now that all the blood is gone."

"Really? It was that bad?"

"Yes. The entire left side of your head was just…wow."

"Did they tell you about how much blood I lost?"

I shook my head, "No. I knew it was a lot though."

"It was close. Just above the maximum you can loose before dying."

That didn't make me feel any better. "That's wonderful for you."

He smiled, "I know."

"I don't know if you have any idea how bad you looked."

He smiled, "Thanks."

"Well, you're not supposed to look good when you get shot. You're supposed to be a mess."

"So I win then?"

I laughed, "Sure? What exactly is there to win at?"

He thought for a minute, "I dunno. But I stayed alive."

"Okay, you win at that."

"Nice. That head injury did me in though."

"What do you mean?"

"That was the reason I passed out. I thought I was going to die because of that."

"Oh. How do you know that?"

He shrugged, "I'm brilliant remember? No. From the minute I took that blow, I felt like I was going to go unconscious. I'm surprised I stayed coherent for so long."

"Then how did you know I was with you? And holding your hand?"

"Every now and then, I would come back. I was kind of drifting back and forth. I just couldn't move."

"Oh well that's weird."

He nodded, "I know."

"I guess I should give your mom a chance to see you."

"Yeah. I'm sure she wants to. I feel terrible for her. I have put her through so much."

I smiled, "She still loves you like it's not even funny," I stood up, "I'll go grab her."

I turned my back to leave for the door.

"Sam," I turned back around, "Make sure you come back. I don't want you to leave."

I smiled, "Of course. I'm not going anywhere."


	14. Epilogue

David and I exited the gate and headed out to the terminal. He kept his right arm around me the whole time. He still only had limited use of the left one. We headed to baggage claim and started to look for Bobby and Jeff. They were just entering the doors as we got there. They both raised their speed once they saw us. Bobby quickly threw his arms around David.

"You're alive! I seriously thought you were gone!"

David smiled and shook his head, "No. You're stuck with me."

"Good. I didn't think I was ever going to see you again. I mean, alive at least."

"Too bad for you."

"Well, the way we found out was when your mom called Jeff to tell her but we were going through a tunnel. Instead of hearing 'Almost died' we only got the last part. We almost crashed."

He shook his head, "Don't you think she would have come out and said that first?"

Bobby thought it over and shrugged, "Oh yeah. True. I've seriously missed your brain. No one has been around to think for us."

"You know what…don't tell me anymore about that. I think I'm afraid to find out."

I smiled and put my arm back around him as we waited at baggage claim. My suitcase came around. David stepped forward to grab it. Bobby tried to stop him.

"Dude, what are you doing?"

"Getting Sam's bag. Why?"

"You're going to hurt yourself."

He shook his head, "Calm down. I can use my right arm."

Bobby sighed, "So I guess you'll never get that baseball career now."

"Nope. No chance of that."

"That sucks. So what did your mom have to say about this whole thing?"

He shrugged, "She came out the second she found out about it."

"I guess that's expected. Was she mad?"

"Not at all. She was really nervous though."

"Yeah. So were we. We couldn't get out there. Damn school."

David laughed, "It's all good."

Jeff butted in, "Bobby cried."

Everyone looked over at him, "Seriously?"

He shrugged, "Maybe a little."

I smiled, "Its okay Bobby. You're not the only one."

David set the bag next to me, "Sam was a mess."

I nodded, "I had my reasons though."

Bobby crossed his arms, "So does it hurt to get shot?"

David laughed and reached for his bag coming around the belt, "Yeah. Trust me. It's not something you want to experience."

"Ouch. I believe you."

He nodded, "Recovery sucks too. Because once they release you, you don't have any pain medication and you actually have to deal with it. It's really awful. That's still where I'm at now."

"So it still hurts pretty badly?"

David shrugged, "Sort of. Only when I try to do certain things."

"It's got to be hard with your shoulder then."

He nodded, "Yeah. That gives me a hard time sometimes. It's not too bad though. By this point I just want to get up and do things because I wasn't able to for a few weeks."

"That sucks."

He nodded, "I know. It does."

"Let's get out of here. I think that your family might want to see you since you nearly gave them all heart attacks."

David laughed, "Yeah. Let's. My mom knows I'm okay though. She was with me last week. She stayed until I was released and for a little while after that. Sam and Anna stayed in her hotel room since theirs was destroyed."

"Nice. But I bet the rest of your family wants to see you too."

We got in the car and started to go home. Bobby's mom let him borrow her car to come pick us up since he didn't have the money for one of his own. We pulled into the driveway. David and I got out to grab our bags. I got mine before he could take it.

"I got it. Don't hurt yourself anymore."

He smiled, "I'm fine. I promise."

"Whatever. Just deal with carrying yours for now."

We headed to the front door and went inside.

"We're home."

David's mom came out from the kitchen and hugged him.

"Long time no see."

David laughed, "I know right? You were just with me."

"Yeah. You're just stronger than the last time I saw you."

"I know. What an improvement."

She stepped away and nodded, "It's pretty amazing."

Andrew got up off the couch.

"So you made it?"

David smiled, "Yeah. Are you bummed?"

Andrew smiled back, "No. I wouldn't say that. Just surprised."

"Why?"

"Well when mom was telling me all the things that happened, you seemed like a goner."

He laughed, "Nope. I'm still here."

Andrew came around the couch, "Good."

He hugged David for a few seconds. He stepped away.

"So how messed up are you still?"

David took a seat on the couch, "Not too bad. I mean, I guess I'll still have some scars. They're all still covered up though."

I tilted his head near me, "This one is healing really well."

"I know. I'm glad. That's the one that most people will see."

I shrugged, "If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have known it was there."

Andrew looked over, "It's not that bad."

He nodded, "Yeah. It's nothing too terrible."

"So are you like, brain damaged because of that?"

"I guess you could say that. I mean, I'll have to deal with some small things. Nothing major though."

He nodded, "Did it hurt?"

"What do you think?"

Andrew laughed, "I take it that's a yes."

"Yeah. It does. I don't recommend it."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"Sure thing."

The door opened and Adam and Gracie walked in. Gracie lit up and started running once she saw David. Adam stopped her for a second.

"I know you're excited but we have to be really careful with Uncle David this time."

She sighed, "I know! Let go of me!"

Adam backed away, "Fine then."

David got up slowly and smiled. Gracie came around the couch and wrapped her arms around his legs. He carefully bent down to her level. She wrapped her arms around him. He held her tightly and close to him.

"I missed you!"

He laughed, "I missed you too. How have you been?"

She stepped away, "Fine."

"Yeah? How has school been?"

She shrugged, "Okay."

Adam shook his head, "Yeah. She is very wise beyond her years. When the teacher asks what songs they want to sing, Gracie is the first to yell out non kid songs. There is no 'Wheels on the Bus' for her."

David laughed again, "She's just so cool like that. Right?"

She giggled, "Yeah. I am."

"I know you are."

David stood up and Adam came over and hugged him.

"How have you been doing?"

David shrugged, "Fine I guess."

"Good. Sit back down; I don't want you hurting yourself."

"Adam, calm down. I was in a hospital bed for a week, on the bed in my dorm room for another week. I just want to move and do something."

He crossed his arms, "Just do it please."

David sat down at his brother's request. Gracie climbed onto David's lap and continued to hold onto him. Adam sat down next to him.

"So you've been okay?"

He nodded, "For the most part. The hardest parts are over."

"Do you have to do any physical therapy?"

He shook his head, "No. I got really lucky. Overall, the whole thing was just lucky. Everything could have gone wrong but it didn't."

"You are really lucky. I was so stunned when dad told me you were okay."

"I know. I was surprised a little bit too."

He nodded, "So what was it like afterwards?"

David shrugged, "I was fine in the hospital. That wasn't too awful. Just really boring."

"What about after? When you were released?"

David covered Gracie's ears, "It was pure hell."

Gracie looked around and gave him a weird look, "What was that for?"

"Nothing."

She shook her head.

"Anyways, what made it so bad?"

David shook his head, "I was off of painkillers for the first time, and it was the first time after it that I realized how bad I was actually hurt. I couldn't move. I think I cried the whole first night."

I remembered that. It was awful. It was so stupid that they couldn't give him anything because of his drug history. It was something he would never do again. It shouldn't matter.

"Wow. Did it get better after that?"

He nodded, "Yeah. It did slowly. Certain things still hurt though."

"Oh. Be careful. I don't want Gracie being rough with you."

"It's fine."

"No its not. You've been through a lot. I don't want her hurting you."

The door opened again. Rob and Karen walked in. Karen headed over to the couches. David stood up and hugged her. She wouldn't let go of him.

"Oh my god. Sweetie, you gave us all heart attacks."

He smiled, "I know. I'm sorry."

"Good. How are you doing?"

He shrugged, "Better."

She stepped back and smiled, "That's great. I was so afraid I wasn't going to get to see you again."

"Well you did. I'm alive."

Rob came around and hugged him, "Wow. You look good for someone who nearly got himself killed."

David smiled, "Thanks. I guess?"

"Yeah. It's a compliment. I know you've probably gotten so many 'how are you doings?' in the past hour, so I wont ask that."

"Thanks. I have."

"It does suck that I can't be mean and trip you and stuff."

"Next time. You'll be able to."

The rest of the afternoon carried on like most family events did. David and I were totally beat from having to fly this morning. Everyone left and we headed back into the bedroom. David opened the door and laid down on the bed. A huge smile spread across his face.

"I've missed my bed so much!"

I smiled and came over next to him, "So have I. It really is comfortable."

He grabbed a pair of shorts and a t shirt and headed into the bathroom to change. I grabbed a pair of my pajamas and got into them. He came out a few minutes later and went right back to where he was before.

"I'm so tired. This has been a long day."

I nodded, "I know. Let's get some rest."

He slowly and carefully sat up. I leaned forward and kissed him. He brought one hand up to my cheek and pulled away.

"I love you."

I blushed, "I love you too."

He pulled back the covers and got under them. He rested down on the pillow. I brought my arm around his back. I had memorized all the places it was okay to touch him.

"Night. I love you."

He reached behind himself and grabbed me, "Night. I love you too."

I slid away and rested on the pillow. Falling asleep was always easy. It was staying asleep and preventing nightmares that was hard. Almost every night since the accident, I had been having really bad dreams about James coming back to do things to David. It was almost reoccurring.

The events and different ways would change but it would always have the same or similar results in the end. I normally woke up out of breath or in tears. I always had to check to make sure that David was okay afterwards.

Tonight's was different. It was totally dark. I just kept hearing all the things James told me that day, the gunshots and all the things David said while he was nearly dying. Everything just kept replaying. It was probably one of the scariest dreams of them all. It was real. I lived through that. I had to go through it and watch it all happen.

I woke up trying to catch my breath. That felt so real. Maybe because it was. I continued to tell myself it was just a dream and that nothing was going to happen. I was breathing heavily and almost in tears. David rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded, "I think so."

He ran his hand up and down my back, "Whats wrong?"

I sighed, "Bad dream."

He nodded, "Again? What happened?"

"Everything from that day kept replaying."

"Oh. Sam, you have nothing to worry about. I'm fine. You know that."

"I know. I just don't want anything happening to you."

He wrapped his right arm around me and rested me really carefully against his chest, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. It's all okay now."

I was afraid that I would be hurting him since one of them was right where I was resting.

I nodded, "I know. Just let me know if I'm hurting you."

He smiled, "You could never hurt me."

"No. I'm serious. I really don't want you in any extra pain."

"I'm fine. I promise."

I sighed again, "I'm so sorry."

I still felt guilty about everything since it didn't need to happen.

He picked my head up, "Don't be. You did nothing wrong."

"I've put you through so much. You shouldn't be with someone who hurts you this much."

He shook his head, "If I wanted to leave, I would. But I'm not going anywhere."

I smiled, "Thanks."

"I'm staying right here with you. Don't worry about that."

"Good. I don't want you going anywhere."

He rubbed my back, "I'm not. I promise."

He lowered his head and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you."

He kissed me again, "I love you too. Like you have no idea."

I smiled, "I think I do."

"No you don't."

"David, can you promise me one thing?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"I just want you to stay with me and never leave."

"Forever?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"I can do that. It's easy. It's not really asking much of me."

"Good. I don't want to loose you."

"I'm staying with you. Don't worry about it."

He rested back down on the bed. I followed and looked across from me at him.

"I love you so much."

He smiled, "I know. I love you too."

"I'm going to love you until forever."

He smiled again, "That's a long time."

"I know. I will though."

"Okay. Forever and ever baby."

7


End file.
